


Sorry

by Pinkquartz75



Category: Goosebumps (2015), Goosebumps - All Media Types
Genre: Character Development, Family Drama, Family Issues, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slappy redemption, also Hannah will get him as a brother, slappy just wants his papa to care about him again, stine will atleast try to treat Slappy like a son, there's also crying in this, very angsty at the start
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 00:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 49,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9265079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinkquartz75/pseuds/Pinkquartz75
Summary: After thinking long and hard about it, Stine decides to let Slappy free from the book. But After doing so, it sets off a chain of events that will challenge even the strongest of hearts.





	1. We need to talk

**Author's Note:**

> I made this fic for my other account and it ended up being quite a hit for some reason. So, this takes place a few months after the movie. I'm sorry in advance for any ooc or spelling errors.

Six whole months. It had been six whole months since the incident. It had been six whole months since the creatures within R.L Stines' manuscripts were unleashed and ran amuck throughout the small town of Madison. But it was all resolved, and most of the monsters had been sealed into a new manuscript written by the boy named Zach Cooper. A few months later, every building that had been destroyed during the monster attack, including the school, and the part of the Stine household that was destroyed by the abominable snowman of Pasadena When he escaped was repaired and rebuilt. Stine also bought a new car, since the last was destroyed by the giant praying mantis. Hannah was going to school and leading a normal life. After that, everything seemed to go back to normal. Or what Stine considered as normal anyway. But something was bothering the writer. It was not the matter of the invisible boy being on the loose(who disappeared somewhere and hasn't been heard from since). It was something else.

Stine kept telling himself that he shouldn't worry over any of the monsters escaping. Sure, they were sealed in one book and unlocking and opening it would likely release them all at once. But that was not what was bothering him. Every few nights for the past weeks within those six months, Stine would go into his study to write. The book that now contained all the monsters the writer ever created rested on the same shelf where all the first books used to be before the incident. Every now and then when Stine would write, he would hear things. He would hear growls, snarls and roars coming from the lone manuscript; monsters trying to free themselves once more. But through the savage sounds and growls, there was one sound that really caught Stines' attention. A voice. Most of the creatures had voices, but Stine recognised who it was.

Slappy.

Stine could not forget what that dummy did when he was released from the Night of the Living Dummy manuscript. He took all the books, released the other monsters, burned the books so they could not be captured again and led them on their rampage throughout the town. That wasn't even the end of it. Slappy wanted Stine dead. He had the gnomes, the giant praying mantis and the werewolf attack the writer, broke his fingers so he could not write a new manuscript and even had the blob monster try to devour him as a last resort. Then he remembered how Slappy laughed in an insane manner when he was being sucked into the new book. Stine would hear the faint sound of the Dummy yelling and screaming through the cover of the manuscript; yelling things like 'let me out' and 'you can't keep me trapped in here'. Stine tried to ignore it, but it was becoming too difficult.

This night however, was different.

When Hannah went to bed, Stine went into the study and sat down in his chair. But he did not write. He stayed in that chair with his legs crossed and his arms folded; staring at the locked manuscript. Two hours passed, with no sounds or yelling. It was now eleven o'clock at night. Still nothing. Stine stood from his chair and started pacing around the room. The writer took his glasses off and cleaned them with his sweater, looking at the book as he did so.

"He probably knows what I'm doing right now." Stine thought to himself, knowing Slappy would know as well.

Placing his glasses back on his face, Stine decided it was time to take a desperate measure. Telling himself that he was going to regret it, Stine walked over to his desk and opened the top drawer. Reaching inside, he took out a small key. With a deep breath, Stine made his way back to the shelf and gently picked up the book. He looked over the leather covering and metal lock. Making sure no one was watching, Stine placed the book against his ear; searching for a sound.

"Hello?" He whispered, hoping for a response.

There was still silence. Stine shook his head.

"I know you can hear me." Stine raised his voice. "I've been hearing your yelling for the past few weeks. Don't think I didn't notice."

Still silence. Stine was getting impatient. The writer raised his voice again.

"Slappy, stop pretending that you can't-"

Loud growls, roars and snarls erupted from inside the leather of the manuscript; making Stine flinch and almost dropping the book. Stine stared at the locked Manuscript as the sounds continued. After a few seconds, a voice found its way into the mix. It was faint but loud enough for Stine to hear. Stine knew who it belonged to. The writer listened to the book more closely; hearing a familiar sentence.

'Let... me... out!'

Stine took a deep breath, having mixed feelings about what he was about to do.

"Slappy, listen closely." He began speaking to the book. "I just want to speak with you."

Stine put the key inside the lock, his hands shaking as he did so.

"I'm going to let you come out. Just make sure the others don't follow you."

With a rush of adrenaline and fear, Stine closed his eyes and turned the key in the lock; opening them when he heard the click. Carefully and slowly, Stine placed the book on the floor; making sure not to open the cover yet. When the manuscript was placed on the floor, Stine placed one hand on the cover and the other grabbed the edge of the cover.

Stine only moved the cover ever so slightly. Before he could utter another set of instructions, a flash of blue light and black ink arose from between the leather cover; nearly blinding the author. Without warning, a small wooden hand latched onto Stines sleeve. The author could hear yelling and screaming coming from inside the manuscript. Stine grabbed the sleeve of the wooden hand and used his free hand to keep the book from opening fully.

"Let, go of me, you savage clods!"

Stine heard Slappys' voice make a curse, but it was not directed at the author. As Stine began to pull the dummy from the pages, the other monsters were trying to follow. Stine managed to pull Slappy halfway out of the manuscript before he realised that he was basically playing a game of tag-of-war with the imprisoned monsters. And Slappy was the rope between them. The dummy yelled out cries of pain as he felt the monsters behind trying to pull him back inside their paper prison; being pulled back by werewolf claws, plant vines and blob monster tentacles. With all the strength he could gather, Stine pulled Slappy out of the page, almost hauling him across the room and closed the book with his other hand before all the other monsters could escape. Stine quickly took the key and locked the book again, making the sounds of the struggle fade and disappear.

Stine fell back and sat down on the floor as he took a few heavy breaths, wiping a small amount of sweat off his forehead.  
The writer heard a light groan. He turned his head to look over his shoulder. He saw Slappy on his knees trying to get up off the floor, looking like he was struggling to do so. Stine observed the sentient dummy, noticing a few changes in his appearance. Slappy had a few new scratches and marks on his painted face and hands, with a small crack in his bottom lip. There were also a few rips and tears on his clothes, including a massive tear on the back of his jacket that almost revealed the inner workings of a ventriloquist dummy. Or at least how normal lifeless ones worked anyway. Stine went closer to the dummy, listening to the sound of wooden joints moving. The writer nervously reached out with one hand.

"...Slappy?" Stine whispered, gently tapping the dummy's shoulder.

"Don't touch me...!"

Stine took his hand back upon Slappys' reaction. The writer gave the dummy a sharp glare.

"You're welcome." Stine said sarcastically in response to Slappys' rude greeting.

"I didn't say thank you." Slappy replied in a rude tone.

"Well it seemed like there was some rough housing going on in there. And from the way I see it, I probably did you a favour."

Slappy did not look up at his creator when he replied.

"I didn't need your help." The dummy hissed harshly.

Stine stood up off the floor and stared down at Slappy.

"I disagree." He said, crossing his arms. "I've been hearing you inside the book."

"I'm surprised that you even bothered to listen." Slappy replied, holding his left wrist.

"Yes, but there's more to it. I feel that we need to talk."

"We don't have anything to talk about."

"I'm afraid we do. I've been thinking about what you did a few months ago."

Slappy moved his eyes in Stines' direction, but he did not look up.

"I know you have." The dummy hissed angrily.

Stine looked down at Slappy, mishearing him.

"Pardon?"

"You hate me." Slappy hissed with a growl. "You think I'm nothing but a mistake. Pinocchio gone wrong. I don't blame you for thinking that. But it still hurts to know that's what you think of your own son."

Stine gave the dummy a surprised look. Slappys' words caught the writer by surprise. He could not help but stare at the scratches and tears that Slappy was now wearing. The writer had an idea of how it happened, but he had to make sure.

"Did the other monsters attack you?" Stine questioned, trying not to sound too empathetic.

Slappy reached for a tear in his right sleeve and held it.

"Not that it's any of your business. But we had a disagreement." The dummy answered unemotionally. "They had a debate on who was to blame for our defeat. They kept saying it was my fault because I didn't finish the job when I had the chance. They said I was being too slow. Apparently, breaking your fingers wasn't punishment enough."

Slappy played around with a piece of thread on his torn jacket as he spoke.

"I was hell-bent on getting rid of you." The dummy continued. "Guess I didn't count on that Zach kid being good with the typewriter."

Stine shook his head slowly and got onto his knees, kneeling down next to the dummy.

"Are you sure?" He asked curiously. "You're not usually like that when it comes to planning. There must be another reason."

Slappy just shrugged his wooden shoulders.

"I don't know." He answered. "I thought those gnomes would do it. Can't count anything that short. Then I thought the other monsters would do it. And then I thought Blobby would finish you off. Or I just got distracted by thinking about the good old days."

Stine smiled briefly as he nodded in agreement. He had images in his head of when he first wrote about Slappy. And then he remembered when the dummy just came right off the page like magic. Stine remembered how Slappy looked around the room like a curious child; like the world was all so new to him. Stine had a fond smile on his lips as he remembered all the fun times. Like thinking up stories, scaring bullies and teaching Slappy some things. But the smile on the writers' face quickly disappeared.

"Where did it go wrong?" Stine sighed.

He remembered when it all went wrong. When Slappy became witness to something no one should see. Stine remembered when the bullies threw rocks at his bedroom window. He thought going outside and asking them to stop would help, but it was a bad idea. He remembered when the bullies ganged up on him and started pushing him and shoving him like a toy. He wasn't sure how. But Slappy must've seen the whole thing and came rushing outside to do something. Stine had trouble seeing because his glasses were taken off him. But he heard the sound of a struggle and screaming from the bullies. When he found his glasses, he looked up to see the bullies running away at the speed of racing dogs. But he saw a knife in the dummy's hand as he yelled curses and threats to the bullies. Stines' insides went cold when he noticed the small amount of blood dripping off the blade.

"I was only trying to defend you, you know." Slappy muttered, reading Stines thoughts. "Those other kids were hurting you."

"I know." Stine muttered back.

Stine put his hand through his hair as the painful memories came rushing back. He tried to explain to Slappy that what he did was wrong, and that he was just meant to scare them not try to put them in the hospital. But the dummy kept saying that they deserved it. It made Stines' heart ache as he remembered how hard everything became years later, when Slappy started taking things too far. He tried hold back the painful memories of debating for months on whether or not to have Slappy sealed into his book like the rest of his creations. He did not want to come to that because he considered Slappy to be his only friend. But the dummy was becoming dangerous and hostile. It had to be done. Stine did not know what made Slappy turn that way. It may have been because he was the personification of the writers personally demons. Stine was quite angry about the way the other kids treated him when he was writing about the book about the dummy. Stine came back to reality and took a deep sigh.

"I did it for your own good." He spoke firmly to the dummy. "You were hurting people."

"Well, you and me have a very different view on 'people', if that's what you can call them." Slappy argued, putting his knees to his chest. "Besides, someone needed to teach those brats some manners."

Stine just sat down on the floor with his legs crossed.

"Slappy. Why do you want me dead?" The writer questioned, even though he knew the answer.

Slappy looked up at Stine with his fake eyes. The dummys' fake eyebrows were up for a split second, but they quickly went back down; making Slappy look enraged.

"Are you that stupid!?" He roared, standing straight up. "You didn't even care how I felt! You just tossed me into that God forsaken manuscript as if I'm just a worthless piece of garbage! I thought you cared about me! You even said I was your favourite! You abandoned me! All because I just scared a few morons and played a few pranks that went a bit far! You treated me as if I committed a war crime! It made me realise that you're just as bad as all the other humans in the world! That's why I did it! Because you left me to rot in paper and leather!"

Stine almost fell backwards as Slappy continued venting.

"Being alone and stuck in a book was bad enough! But then that brat you call Zach decided to cram all of us into one! Do you have any idea how cramped and tight it is in there!? If you didn't kick me and I managed to drag you in there with me, you'd know what it's like! I had to climb up a tower of gnomes and graveyard ghouls every day for past few months just to get your attention! Now the monsters want a piece of me because they think it's all my fault! My whole existence is a nightmare now! And you don't give a rats tail about it! You made me think I was perfect! You promised you'd never abandon me! You broke that promise! You lied to me!"

Slappy finally stopped with a stomp; taking heavy and deep breaths from all his yelling. The dummy fell back onto the floor on his backside from exhaustion. It was not long before Slappy buried his face into his knees and started making faint sobbing noises; surprising Stine. The writer could not stop himself from being gobsmacked at the dummy's emotional outburst.

"I was a mistake. That's pretty much what you think of me." Slappy sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "You made me feel like I was special. But you threw me away. And you… You even replaced me."

There was a long pause from both sides. Stine had trouble believing what he was seeing and hearing. He knew what Slappy meant when he talked about being replaced, thinking he loved Hannah better. This was coming from Slappy; one of his most infamous creations. Stine just lowered his head in deep thought.

"You're not a mistake." Stine explained, hoping Slappy would understand.

"Don't lie, you big Four-eyed, back stabbing twit." The dummy croaked with a sob.

"I'm not lying. I didn't want to resort to that. It pained me to do it. I didn't replace you either... I was just trying to be human again. I thought having Hannah around would help."

Slappy did not say anything. He just kept his head down as he made a sniffling sound.

Stine just stared down at the dummy, unsure of what to do next. The writer looked away for a few seconds before coming back and tapping Slappys' shoulder.

"Look at me, Slappy." Stine instructed, wanting the dummy's attention.

As much as he hated to do so, Slappy did as his creator told him. The dummy lifted his head up from his knees, wiping his face with his sleeve as if he really was crying. Stine had his arms open with an apologetic stare in his eyes.

"Come here."

Slappy gave the writer a glare with a raised eyebrow.

"How do you if I'm not going strangle you?" The dummy questioned, sounding untrusting.

"Because I trust that you won't." Stine answered back.

Slappy just looked away and shook his head with a quiet groan of frustration. The dummy tapped his wooden finger against his shoulder for a whole ten seconds before responding. Slappy got off the floor; using his knees for support. With brief hesitation, the dummy stumbled his way up to Stine and threw himself into the writers welcoming arms. Stine knew that Slappy hated giving in, but this seemed like something he needed. Stine felt the dummy holding a tight but harmless grip on the fabric of the writers' sweater.

"I really hate you." Slappy whispered with brutal honestly.

"I know." Stine replied, holding the dummy closer. "But I don't hate you."

Slappy did not respond to the writers reply. The hug only lasted a few more seconds before breaking apart.

"Are you going to put me back now?" Slappy questioned, sounding indifferent about it.

Stine just took a deep sigh before answering the question.

"I'll make you a deal." Stine took off his glasses to clean them. "I'll let you stay out of the manuscript if you behave yourself. You can just hang around the house if you promise not to do anything drastic. It's fine if you insult me or if you need to vent your frustration at me every now and then. But if you try to unleash the monsters again or hurt Hannah or anyone else for no reason, you're going back in."

"So basically it's be good or else, is it?" Slappy crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Pretty much." Stine answered back, placing his glasses back on.

Slappy seemed as if he was going to refuse the offer. But to Stines' hidden amazement, the dummy just held out his wooden hand.

"Fine. I'll cooperate." Slappy agreed unemotionally.

Stine responded by shaking the sentient dummy's hand; making their agreement official. Stine looked over to a clock hanging on the wall; reading 11:13. It was quite late now.

"It's getting late." Stine stated in his head.

As Stine turned back to face Slappy, he witnessed the dummy fall back down on the floor. The writer reached out and helped him back up.

"Are you alright?" Stine asked out of general concern.

"I don't feel too good." Slappy answered, struggling to get back up.

"You're probably just tired."

Stine gently took hold of Slappy; lifting him off the ground and holding him like a child. The writer carefully made his way to one of the chairs and gently placed the dummy on the seat.

"Wait here. And don't try anything." Stine instructed before leaving the room.

"Where am I going to go?" Slappy asked sarcastically.

Stine only left the room for twenty seconds before coming back with a pillow and a sleeping bag in his arms. The writer began to set up a place for the dummy to rest.

"You can sleep here in the study for tonight." Stine explained as he rolled the sleeping bag out.

Slappy shifted his position on the chair as he watched his creator set up the space.

"You know, Hannah might have a spaz attack when she finds out about this." Slappy explained to the writer.

"I'll just have to break it to her gently." Stine replied. "She may not be as forgiving as me, but I know she's not heartless."

"She can still beat the stuffing out of me."

Stine just rolled his eyes before finishing what he was doing. The temporary sleeping space was set up and ready for use.

"All done. I know you don't really need sleep, but I think this might be comfortable if you want to." Stine explained as he stood up.

"You really didn't have to. Do you realise that you're being nice to someone who tried to kill you?" Slappy responded, sliding off the chair.

"Well, as quoted by Nelson Mandela. Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies."

Slappy just ignored Stines' blabbering and dug into the cover of the sleeping bag. The dummy rested his wooden head on the pillow provided and pulled the covering closer. Before Stine left the room, the writer picked the manuscript off the floor. Stine was already in the doorway before he froze; knowing that Slappy was watching him.

"Just taking caution." Stine said, facing away from the dummy. "In case you get any ideas."

"Please. Even if I did do it again, all my so called 'friends' would just rip me apart for what happened." Slappy remarked, referring to the other monsters.

Stine could only look down at the floor in response to Slappys' remark. The writer turned around to face the dummy one last time.

"Good night." Stine said, trying to sound unemotional. "May rest bring you healing."

With that said, Stine turned back and closed the door; leaving Slappy alone in the dark study. Stine still had his hand on the doorknob when it was closed. The writer had trouble processing what he just did. He had no idea how this was going to go, or how Hannah would react if she found out about it. Stine let go of the door as he sighed tiredly; thinking of the events that took place months ago. Slappy was right to be angry at him. Stine blamed himself for the dummy's behaviour. How Slappy became enraged with vengeance. The writer slowly made his way to his bedroom to retire for the night; hoping everything would become clear to him by morning.

Slappy stared up at the ceiling as he laid down on his back in the sleeping bag. The dummy could see the thoughts of his creator. He was expecting thoughts of hate and disgust from Stine. But all he could see was confusion and grief. Slappy turned over onto his side, looking for a more comfortable position for sleeping.

"How can he be so forgiving?" The dummy whispered to himself. "Wouldn't he be more concerned that I might stab him in back if I get the chance? It's not I'm planning on it. There's no point to it now anyway. If I freed the monsters again, they would rip me apart."

Slappy pulled the covering closer, feeling ready to drift off to sleep.

"He thinks he can make me behave. What a joke." He chuckled quietly at the thought. "I don't think I need help."

Slappy's wooden eyelids began to close.

"But... I don't really know... What to think, anymore." The dummy thought before falling into slumber.


	2. Finding out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah finds out about Slappy.

Hannah awoke with a yawn and a stretch. The teenage daughter of R.L Stine crawled out of her bed in her red summer pyjamas; rubbing her tired eyes before leaving her bedroom. Hannah quickly but carefully ran down the stairs and entered the kitchen; where her father was eating a bowl of cornflakes while reading the paper.

"Morning, dad." She greeted as she walked in.

Stine looked up from his paper.

"Good morning, sweetheart." He greeted back. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah. I always sleep well when the weekend starts." Hannah said as she grabbed a bowl from the cupboard.

Stine briefly smiled at his daughter before going back to his paper. Hannah made her way to the refrigerator and pulled the door open. She looked around for milk. But she let out a light sigh of disappointment as she closed the refrigerator door.

"We're out of milk." She announced.

Stine looked up from his paper again and looked at the cornflakes he had for breakfast.

"Oh. Sorry about that, Hannah." He said, folding the paper and putting it down. "I'll just go to the store and get some."

"That's okay dad, I can just make toast instead." Hannah insisted; getting a plate and putting the bowl back.

"No, I insist. It'll only take a few minutes." Stine insisted, grabbing the keys to his car. "I was going to do that today anyway."

Just as Stine was about to leave the house, Hannah spoke up.

"Dad, can I just talk to you about something?" She asked, fiddling with her plate.

"Of course, Hannah. What's on your mind?" Stine replied in question.

Hannah took a moment to answer.

"Did you, hear anything strange last night?" She asked with an uncertain tone.

Stine blinked at Hannah when she asked the question. He was hoping she didn't hear Slappy yelling at him last night.

"I don't think I did." Stine answered back. "Why?"

"Well, I don't really know if I was dreaming or not." Hannah began her answer. "But I thought I heard something coming from the study. Are you sure you didn't hear anything?"

Stine had to say something. If he did not come up with anything quickly, Hannah would know that something was up. Stine adjusted his glasses before he spoke.

"I really didn't hear anything, Hannah." He answered calmly. "Maybe you were just having a dream."

Hannah just shrugged in response.

"Maybe you're right. I'm probably just a little edgy from what happened before." She explained, referring to the monster attack.

Stine nodded in response.

"Well, I'll be back ten minutes." He smiled, opening the front door. "Try to stay out of any trouble while I'm gone."

Hannah smiled at her father's attempt at a dad joke. She watched and waved goodbye as her father got into the car and drove off.

The smile on Stine's face quickly disappeared after he drove off in the car. He was worried about what would happen if Hannah found out about what he was doing. But he tried not to think about it. Stine was sure Hannah would not go into the study. And he was sure Slappy would not bring any attention to himself at this point in time.

When Hannah finished her toast, she went back upstairs to her room to get dressed. Now wearing a black t-shirt with knee length shorts and black sneakers, Hannah stepped out of her room as she finished doing her hair up in a ponytail. Hannah was about to go back down the stairs. Before a strange faint sound reached her ears. Hannah stopped and froze in her tracks. She turned in the direction of her father's study. When she was about to wave it off as nothing, she heard another noise. Hannah looked at the door to the room. She slowly began making her way towards it, knowing that she did not imagine it.

A light moaning sound came from inside; making Hannah freeze for two seconds. Slowly and carefully, she grabbed the knob on the door and turned it. Hannah slowly opened the door; hoping the noises were just her imagination and nothing else.

Hannah looked into the room, seeing everything as normal. Except for a sleeping bag on the floor. Hannah tilted her head in confusion at the sight. She took a small step towards the bag, trying to get a closer look.

A quiet mumbling sound escaped from under the cover; making Hannah take a step back. She blinked a few times as she observed the sleeping bag as it slowly began to move.

"What the-?" She muttered to herself.

"...No..."

Hannah's eyes went wide as a tired voice came out from under the covers. Hannah thought she heard that voice before. In fact... It almost sounded similar to her father.  
\---------------------  
"This is all your fault, you dummy!"

Slappy narrowed his eyebrows at the Executioner for calling him the D word, and he growled at him for saying that it was his fault.

"How dare you speak to me that way!" The dummy shouted in response. "I freed all of you! You can't put the blame on me!"

All the monsters that were now trapped inside the one manuscript gathered around Slappy, all growling, snarling and staring at him with grim intentions.

"But you put us here." Madame Doom stated with a displeased tone.

"You didn't kill Stine when you had the chance!" Murder the clown added with insane laughter.

"You just made us do all the dirty work!" The haunted mask sneered.

Slappy stood his ground as his 'friends' came closer with glares in their eyes.

"W-well I couldn't do it all on my own!" He argued. "Papa would have-"

"Why do you even call him papa!?" The mummy of prince Khor-Ru interrupted with a hiss.

Slappy fell silent; having no idea how to respond.

"You probably didn't have the guts to do it!" The Executioner held his axe up.

"You were just having a big temper tantrum, weren't you!?" The haunted mask snarled.

"What?! No!" Slappy argued back.

"You were going to betray us, like he betrayed you." Madame Doom accused harshly.

"That's not true!"

"He's probably lying to us right now!" Professor shock shouted out.

"We should tear him limb from limb!" The witch doctor added, holding his staff up as he shouted.

Slappy jumped as he heard all these harsh words. All these harsh words from his followers, his allies, his friends. The dummy took a step back; shaking as he did so.

"No! Stay back!" He warned as the monsters came closer.

"Tear him apart." The snake lady proclaimed.

"Chop him into firewood!" The executioner held his axe up high.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" The Annihilator 3000 robots Shouted in computerised voices.

Vines from Dr Brewers plant mutates wrapped around Slappy; squeezing him and holding him in place as the monsters prepared to give him his 'punishment'.

"No! Please!" The dummy begged as the vines became tighter.

Slappy could not do anything. All he could do was stay there and watch in horror as his former followers closed in on him; consuming him in shadow as he cried for mercy.

\------------------------

"I said STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Slappy awoke with a furious start; sitting up and tossing his pillow blindly. The dummy opened his wooden eyelids as he breathed heavy and raspy breathes. Slappy froze and turned silent when he saw a pair of legs in his line of sight. Slowly, he lifted his head up to see a familiar face staring down at him. Hannah stared down with her eyes wide as she trembled; seemingly on the verge of a scream.

"Oh, great." Slappy muttered; knowing what was coming next.  
\-------------------------------  
Stine pulled up into the driveway; turning off the car and coming out with a one litre bottle of milk from the store. Stine whistled a tune to himself as he walked over to the door.

But just as Stine was about to put his hand on the door handle, a scream irrupted from inside the house; making the writer drop the large plastic bottle. Stine rushed inside, leaving the door open.

"Hannah?!" He shouted as he ran up the steps.

Stine came to a halt in front of the doorway to the study. The writer looked into the room to see Hannah with a push broom in her hands; shouting threats as she chased a frighted Slappy around the room.

"Hold still, you wooden gremlin!" Hannah shouted, waving the broom at the dummy.

"And I thought you'd be happy to see me!" Slappy yelled sarcastically.

Slappy ran and hid behind Stine; thinking his creator would provide protection against the girl.

"Dad, don't move!" Hannah instructed towards her father.

Hannah began to slowly advance towards the dummy. Stine looked back and fourth at them both before he blocked his daughters' path.

"Hannah, calm down." Stine instructed; making Hannah stop in her track.

Hannah blinked at her father before questioning his actions.

"Calm down!? Dad, look behind you!" Hannah warned.

"Sweetheart, I know that Slappy is behind me, but if you would just let me explain-"

"Explain what!?" Hannah questioned further.

Slappy looked up as he held the fabric of Stines' pant leg.

"Just tell her, Stine! She was going to find out anyway!" The puppet added into the tension.

"Tell me what?"

Stine looked back and forth at the being behind him and the being in front of him before taking a deep breath.

"I let-"

"Hello?"

Stine was interrupted by a familiar voice, coming from down stairs.

"Slappy, go hide!" He whispered to the dummy, gently pushing him towards the study.

Slappy let out a short growl as he did as Stine instructed. Hannah quickly rushed out of the study, trying to avoid Slappy like the flu and closed the door shut. Stine quickly rushed down the stairs to see the owner of the voice. The writer stopped at the middle of the steps when he saw who it was.

It was Zach Cooper. The teen from next door was standing in front doorway and was still in his pyjamas; indicating that he rushed over in a hurry. Stine blinked at the visitor. Or in his opinion, intruder.

"How did you get in here?" Stine questioned from his place on the stairs.

"I heard a scream and ran here." Zach spoke a concerned tone.

"I didn't ask how you got here; I asked how you got in!" Stine raised his voice.

"The door was open!" Zach argued, also raising his voice.

Stine fell silent; only muttering an 'oh' a few seconds after. The writer finished his trek down the stairs.

"Is everything okay?" Zach asked out of concern. "I heard Hannah scream."

"She's fine. She just saw a mouse." Stine made up on the spot.

Just at that moment, Hannah came running down the steps. Stine turned around to face her.

"Did you catch the mouse, Hannah?" Stine asked, still trying to mislead Zach.

Hannah looked at her father as he as twitched slightly towards Zach; trying sound a message. Hannah looked back at Zach.

"No, it got away." She lied, getting her father's message.

Zach raised an eyebrow at the girl; crossing his arms.

"Didn't think you'd be so scared of a mouse." He smirked, referring to the scream he heard earlier.

"It was a, pretty big mouse." Hannah explained, putting her hands together for emphasis.

"It'll probably turn up again." Stine added.

Zach's face went back to a more serious expression before he spoke again.

"Sorry if I was intruding or anything." He apologised, turning to the door. "Just making sure if everything's okay."

"Thank you for your concern, Zach." Stine waved goodbye as Zach went back to his house.

Hannah and her father watched as Zach disappeared behind the hedge.

"Good; he didn't find out." Stine thought to himself, closing the door.

Stine turned around to see Hannah tapping her foot on the floor with her arms crossed. She gave her father a grim expression as he put his hands behind his back.

"So." She started. "You wanna tell me why that dummy is in the study?"

Stine looked down at the floor before answering.

"I let him out." He answered unemotionally.

"Why would you even think of doing that!?" Hannah questioned further.

"I... I thought that if I try and talk to him, we could patch things up." Stine explained.

Hannah blinked at her father as she made a grimace expression on her face.

"Talk to him? He tried to kill you!" She argued.

"Yes, he tried; but he did not succeed." Stine counter argued.

"He broke your fingers!"

"I'm well aware of that, Hannah."

Stine sighed as he adjusted his glasses.

"I know this seems a bit unorthodox, but I did it for a good reason." He explained. "I'm going to try and help him change his ways. Rehabilitate him."

"What makes you think he can change?!" Hannah questioned, still not convinced. "He's evil!"

"But if we just give him a chance-"

"He'll stab us in the back when he gets a chance!"

"HANNAH, THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Hannah took a step back at her father's outburst. Stine loosened up when he realised what he just done.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." He apologised, his face going red from embarrassment. "I know I didn't think this all through. I understand that you're angry-"

Hannah put a hand on her father's shoulder, making him quiet.

"I'm not angry." She corrected. "I just can't trust that dummy. Not after what he did to you."

"Well, if my plan works, we won't have to worry about it happening in the future." Stine reassured.

"I guess. But what if Zach, Champ and Lorraine find out?"

Stine looked in a different direction; seemingly embarrassed at his lack of planning ahead. The writer opened his mouth to say something.

But before he could utter a word, a loud crash came from the study up stairs. Stine quickly responded by racing up the stairs with Hannah following. The writer quickly opened the door into the study, hoping Slappy just broke something by accident. The dummy was not there. Stine looked all over the room, seeing the window smashed in pieces and a piece of paper on the floor. The writer picked up the paper and read the words in their bold red lettering.

DON'T LOOK FOR ME!

"What happened?" Hannah asked as she came running into the room; falling silent when she saw the smashed window.

Stine shook his head as he read the note four times over again. The writer folded up the note and put it in his pocket before he turned to face Hannah.

"Call your friends. We need to find him."


	3. Back to the park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stine and Hannah call Zach and Champ to find Slappy before anything happens.

"So what's going on?"

Zach and Champ looked up at Stine from their spots on the living room couch; waiting for what he had to say. Stine nervously adjusted his glasses.

"Well... You're probably wondering why we've asked you both to come here." He started.

"If it's about the mouse, you should call the exterminator." Zach answered back, referring to what happened earlier.

"There was a mouse?" Champ asked in general curiosity.

"No, this isn't about a mouse." Stine answered back.

The writer looked at Hannah as she stood in the corner with her arms crossed. She nodded at him; as if to say 'go on then'. Stine took a short sigh before speaking again.

"So you both... Remember what happened six months ago?" Stine questioned while shaking.

"With the monsters?" Zach answered back.

"How can I forget?" Champ added; shuddering at the memories of the events.

"Well..."

Stine folded his hands as he tried to think of an appropriate answer. Hopefully one that wouldn't course too much panic.

"One of them has escaped." He answered.

Zach sat up in his seat in shook while Champs' eyes briefly went wide.

"One of them escaped?" Zach questioned.

"W-which one? The haunted mask?" Champ asked in fear.

"The gnomes?"

The Abominable Snowman?"

"No, let me answer!" Stine interrupted.

The writer looked down at the floor in fear of how the boys would react. But he had to answer. Stine looked up.

"It was Slappy."

Zach stood up out of his seat while Champ looked at Stine as if he were a ghost. Zach shook his head in disbelief.

"How did he get out!? We trapped him in the new book with all the other monsters!" Zach questioned, clearly shocked by this news.

"Oh god, not him." Champ muttered with his hands covering his face.

"I don't know how." Stine lied. "But it seems he's the only one that escaped."

"Where is he now?" Champ asked as he stood up.

"He ran off." Hannah answered, stepping out from the corner.

"That's why we've called the both of you here." Stine added.

The writer went over to the cupboard. He sorted through its contents and took out a few flashlights.

"It's getting dark, so we need to search the area and find him as soon possible." Stine instructed as he handed out the flashlights. "He couldn't have gotten far. He's in a weakened state."

"So how're we going to find that dummy?" Champ asked.

"We'll have to go to different parts of town." Hannah answered, putting on a hooded jacket.

"Everyone, get in the car." Stine instructed.

The group of four rushed to the car to begin the search for Slappy. Stine explained that he would drop the boys off at the centre of town to look for Slappy while he would search the Graveyard and Hannah would try the old amusement park.

"And remember. Don't approach or attack him if you find him. Just call me and I'll come to care of it." Stine explained as he dropped Zach and Champ off at the town.

"Got it!" The boys said in unison as they got out of the car.

Stine drove off again. It was only him and Hannah as of now. Stine could not help but notice that his daughter was giving him a distrustful look.

"They're gonna flip when they find out that you let him out." She said as she turned to face the window.

"I'll just have to break it to them gently." Stine replied, keeping his eyes on the road.

Hannah stared out the window; watching as the sky slowly turned dark and grey from gathering clouds. This whole thing made her think about everything that happened six months ago. From meeting Zach, the monsters on their rampage. Being trapped in the manuscript with all the monsters.  
....  
Hannah opened her eyes to a dark void. Her breathing was slow. Her form glowing in pale blue like the ghost she was. She looked around the dark space; knowing where she was, but still afraid of what was with her.

"H-hello?" She whispered.

A growl replied. Hannah quickly turned to see a pair of red glowing eyes staring straight at her. She slowly backed away from the monster, bumping into something else. An insane laugh of a clown irrupted, making Hannah flinch and turn. Green, yellow and red eyes looked at her with grim intentions. All around her snarls and growls surrounded her.

"No, leave me alone!" She shouted out.

The growls and snarls of monsters only grew louder and closer. Hannah fell backwards and curled into a ball. Closing her eyes shut as she waited for horror to come.

"STOP!"

A voice overlapped the sounds of monsters; silencing them. Hannah opened her eyes and lifted her head; seeing only blank darkness.

"Well, if it isn't R.L Stine's favourite."

Hannah heard a familiar voice from behind. It almost sounded like her father. But she knew that it was not him. She turned around to face the owner of the voice. A short figure stepped out of the shadows; the figure of a ventriloquist dummy. Hannah gave a hateful glare at the approaching figure.

"Nice to see you too, Slappy." She said with a hint of sarcasm.

Slappy still stood in darkness. But Hannah could see him without difficulty. The dummy let out a light chuckle.

"It seems you're not as perfect as papa intended you to be." He spoke in a hurtful tone.

Hannah raised an eyebrow at the sentient dummy's words.

"What makes you say that?" She question as she stood up.

Slappy took a step forward.

"Look around you, Hannah." He held his arm up to his side. "Do you know where you are? You're trapped in this pitiful prison, just like the rest of us. That raises the question of why Stine let you get stuck in here; doesn't it?"

Hannah shook her head in disagreement.

"He didn't abandon me. I told him and Zach that it was okay to let me go." Hannah argued.

"But they could have left you out easily. And yet, you’re here with me!" Slappy argued back.

Growls from the monster erupted around the dark space. Hannah stood her ground as the eyes of monsters reappeared.

"What's your point!?" She questioned with a shout.

The glowing of the monsters eyes shined on Slappy; showing the anger in his eyes.

"What's my point!?" He repeated in disgust. "My point is that it was only a matter of time before Stine would get bored of you and put you in here, like he did with me!"

"You're in here because it's your own fault!" Hannah yelled back.

"You don't know that!"

"I know because dad told me!"

Slappy narrowed his eyebrows at the girl.

"But he didn't tell you everything." He said calmly.

"He just said that you were going too far with scaring people." Hannah argued.

"I was protecting him from all the people who would hurt him!" Slappy shouted backed. "We all were. But how did he repay us? By locking us away like criminals. It seemed conspicuous when he sealed the others away. And of all of his creations, He let you out when it was clear as crystal that I was his favourite! But you want to know what really took the cake?"

Slappy took three more steps forward, now two meters away of Hannah. The ghost watched the dummy; unsettled by how calm and collected he suddenly was.

"He promised that he would never do that to me. But look where I am now." Slappy whispered in a harsh and raspy voice. "Stine doesn't care for his children, Hannah. Papa doesn't care."

As Slappy finished speaking, the monsters in the dark all went ballistic. Roars, growls, insane laughter and snarls erupted all around Hannah and the dummy in front of her. Hannah covered her ears and closed her eyes while Slappy just stood there and watched.

"My ears!" She shouted in her mind as the noises got louder by the second.

Hannah fell to her knees as the noises became too much for her, tears forming in the corners of her eyes; wishing for the noise to end.

"A flash of gold light eliminated from the freshly opened manuscript."

Hannah opened her eyes as she heard a voice. The noises from the monsters ceased and were replaced by silence. She lifted her head to face Slappy, who was looking at her with his eyebrows up in a shocked state. Hannah took her hands away from her earshot; watching as they started to glow bright gold. She looked forward as Slappy's mouth moved, but no words were coming out.

"The light slowly shifted and took a form. The form of a teenage girl."

The voice came back as Hannah began to glow brighter. Slappy kept shouting in silence as the girl disappeared from the dark space.

"Hannah emerged from that light, reborn as human."

The voice sounded like it was reading from a book. Somehow, it sounded comforting and warm. Only then, Hannah realised who the voice belonged to. Her father.  
....  
"Hannah."

Hannah snapped out of her daze as she heard her father talking to her. She turned to face him.

"We're here." Stine said; pointing at the window.

Hannah looked to where her father was pointing. It was the abandoned amusement park, where the monster were defeated and sucked into the book. Hannah took off her seatbelt and opened her door.

"Now remember what I said." Stine spoke to her in calm voice.

"If I find him, don't go near him and call you." Hannah repeated, grabbing her flash light and jumping out of the car.

Stine nodded as Hannah was about to close the door. But she froze halfway. She looked into the car and faced her father.

"Do you really think you can change him, dad?" She questioned.

Stine blinked at his daughter and turned away. He tapped his finger against the steering wheel as he stared into space.

"I honestly don't know if I can, Hannah." The writer said with a sigh. "But if I don't try, then we won't know if it can be done."

Hannah looked down at the ground as she kicked some of the dirt.

"I guess." She responded before she closed the door of the car.

Hannah walked into the abandoned amusement park as Stine drove off to search the graveyard. The girl walked over to the switch that lit the whole park; wandering if it still functioned. She flipped the switch; lighting the once dark ruins of the destroyed fairgrounds. Hannah remembered how everything went six months ago. How the monsters covered the ground like an invading army and how her father was almost eaten by a giant blob. The girl started searching the fairgrounds for the little wooden gremlin that tried to kill her father. Hannah noticed something on the ground as she searched. Bright neon green liquid stained the soil. Hannah bent down and took a closer look.

"What is this stuff?" She whispered in question.

Just then, a faint but loud enough to hear clap of thunder could be heard of above her head. Hannah looked up towards the dark grey clouds; feeling some light drops of rain on her face. She immediately stood up and pulled the hood of her jacket over her head.

"Maybe this stuff might lead to that dummy." She thought, thinking she should follow it before the rain washes it away.

Hannah followed the green liquid; the rain getting heavy by the minute. The liquid didn't fade or wash away from the rain to Hannah's surprise. The lights around the park began to flicker. After a few seconds, they went off completely. Hannah quickly turned on her flashlight and resumed following the liquid; noticing the green trail glowing faintly. After a while, the trail ended near a large candy stall that resembled a small shack. The stall had broken neon lights that spelled out 'Cavity City'; the register at the front closed. Hannah looked around the area unsure of where to look. She shivered as the rain continued.

"Good god, it's cold." She muttered to herself.

Just then she heard a faint sound. Hannah pointed her flashlight onto the candy stall; the sound coming from inside. She slowly approached the stall, listening closely. The sound that came from inside resembled someone holding in a sob. Hannah went around the back of the stall; finding another way in. A door was at the back of it, and it was unlocked. Hannah placed her hand on the door and opened it slowly, trying to be as silent as she possibly could. Hannah stared into the dark stall; noticing a small figure sitting on the floor. Curled into a ball its back to the door and trembling. Hannah shined her light on it; almost gasping when she saw who it was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slappy has an emotional venting episode while Hannah listens.

Hannah watched in silence as Slappy just sat there in the corner of the stall with his back facing the door; head down and trembling. He was muttering something that Sounded like stressful gibberish. Hannah remembered what she had to do next. The girl tried to back away from the stall. Until she heard a loud crack form underneath. Slappy stopped trembling and froze. Hannah looked down at her feet; realising that she stepped on a stick.

“I didn't want you to follow me, Stine.” Slappy whispered in a shaky and raspy voice.

Hannah froze in her place. Slappy lifted his head and turned it around completely; staring at Hannah with lowered eyebrows. They went up for a bit when he realised who he was looking at.

“Oh. It’s you.” He said, turning his head back around.

“Did you think I was someone else?” Hannah questioned.

“Who do you think?” Slappy replied in a rather rude tone.

Hannah felt a chill go up her spine as thunder went off from outside. The girl took a step forward towards the dummy.

“I overheard you and Stine talking about me.” Slappy spoke, making Hannah stop in her place.

Hannah blinked at the sentient dummy’s words.

“You, heard all that?” She asked.

“I recall that you said something about stabbing Stine in the back.” Slappy answered back. “About how I could never change. I don't blame you for saying those things.”

“So, why did you run away?”

Slappy shifted a little before speaking again.

“I don't want to go back.” He said in a blank tone.

“Well Dad, Zach and Champ are looking for you.” Hannah placed her hand on the dummy’s shoulder. “So-”

Slappy flinched at the feeling of being touched. He quickly squirmed away and gave Hannah a dreadful glare.

“Don't touch me!” He shouted at her, backing into the wall.

Hannah looked at him as he breathed heavily. Even though Slappy’s face was stuck in a permanent grin, something seemed off about him. Hannah noticed a few changes in his appearance. There were the new scratch and chip marks on his face. His suit was partly torn and dirty, and the paint that gave him his skin colour looked pale and faded. In a way, he almost looked sick. There were also neon green stains on his suit and around his eyes. Hannah kneeled down to Slappy’s level.

“You look ill.” She commented.

“I'm fine.” Slappy replied in a harsh tone.

Hannah stared as Slappy made a sniffing noise and wiped his nose with his sleeve; clearly lying to her.

“You’re not fine.” Hannah said firmly.

Hannah reached into her pocket and took out her phone.

“We need to call dad and get you home.”

Just as Hannah was about to dial the number, Slappy snatched the phone from her.

“NO!” The dummy shouted at her.

“Slappy, Stop it! You’re sick; you need to get back to the house!” Hannah explained, trying to get her phone back.

“I'm not going back to him! Not after everything he put me through!”

“Just give me the phone!”

Slappy quickly placed Hannah’s phone in his coat; refusing to give it back.

“So I can mess up just once and get locked in that book again!? Not happening!”

Hannah banged her fist against the floor and stood up; looking down at Slappy with a pissed off stare of annoyance.

“Fine, have it your way!” She shouted, making Slappy flinch. “Dad and I are only trying to help you, but you're just acting like a jerk! You can stay here and get sick for all I care!”

With that, Hannah pulled up her hood and turned for the doorway. Before she even reached it, she felt a pair of arms grab onto her leg. Hannah looked down to see Slappy clinging onto her; head down facing the floor.

“Don't leave me!” Slappy starting shaking as he spoke.

Hannah just stared at the dummy’s bi polar behaviour. One minute he was angry and irritable, and then he suddenly became clingy and childish. The girl shook her head as Slappy held on tighter.

“What's your deal?” Hannah questioned. “I thought you were supposed be some terrifying monster.”

Slappy suddenly stopped shaking. He let go of Hannah’s leg and backed off. Hannah watched silently as he lifted his head. The slightly irritated expression on her face faded when saw green liquid streaming down from Slappy’s eyes. The dummy’s eyebrows were down, making him look angry.

You really don't get it, Hannah.” Slappy croaked in between sobs. “I can't trust him anymore. He’s lied to me too much. I don't want it to happen again.”

Hannah silently watched as Slappy pulled his knees up to his chest; trying to hold back green tears. Quietly, Hannah sat down next to him; staring into the wall opposite from them. Two whole minutes of silence passed.

“What was it like?”

Slappy came out of his trance and looked up at Hannah.

“W-what?”

“You and dad.” Hannah repeated. “What was your relationship with him like?”

Slappy turned back to face the wall.

“Well...” He began. “We got along pretty well I suppose. We were quite close. He created me; I helped him scare people who were on his blacklist like all his monsters did. But... He told me I was different. While he would put the others back in their books when they did their job, he would always leave me out. We spent so much time together. Sometimes I would help him come up with plots for books he was writing.”

Slappy loosened up as he recalled the happy memories of him and his creator.

“Those were such wonderful times. I looked up to Stine. Not just in the literal sense.”

Slappys brows went down as he recalled how it all went wrong.

“And then ’it’ happened.” He said with a hint of disgust in his tone. “Stine made us go after the kids who bullied and hurt him. But I never saw them do it. I only saw it happen once. They kept pushing him to the ground and kicked him while he was down. I couldn't stand to watch. So I took matters into my own hands.”

Hannah watched in discomfort as Slappy gripped the fabric of his pants in a tight fist.

“What did you do?” She asked, thinking she knew the answer.

Slappy stared angrily at the wall as the memories came back.

“I gave them a taste of their own medicine.” He said in an almost threaten tone. “I made them feel the pain that Stine felt. And I sent them running like the cowards they were... But Stine didn't like it. He kept saying that what I did was wrong. I begged to differ. The next few years, I stepped up my game. Mostly pranks and practical jokes. Some a little over the top.”

The green tears began to emerge again as Slappy continued.

“I was just being what he made me to be. I may have taking things too far at times. That was no reason to put me away. He made me feel special; he said I was different to all his creations. But, now...”

Slappy put his hand over his mouth, trying to hold back tears and sobs.

“I’m just a mistake. I was so convinced that I was real, but I never was. I’m Just a figment of a writer’s imagination.”

Hannah couldn't take her eyes off of Slappy. Seeing him act like this was a first. She was starting to feel sympathy for him. Hannah started to notice that Slappy was getting shaky again; possible from the cold of the rain. She quietly took off her jacket and placed it around the dummy’s small body. Slappy only noticed a few seconds later, but he said nothing.

“I’m sure dad doesn't think of you that way.” Hannah spoke softly.

“He kicked me like a football. I'm pretty sure that says what he thinks.” Slappy responded in a slightly irritated tone.

“Well, you did break his fingers and have him swallowed by a giant blob.” Hannah reminded.

“I know what I did!”

Hannah rolled her eyes at Slappy’s rude response.

“Look, I know that dad can be a bit disagreeable most of the time. But he can't hold a grudge forever. And I’m pretty sure you can't neither.”

Slappy looked up at Hannah with one of his eyebrows raised up.

“Truth is he’s worried about you. He doesn't what you to hurt yourself.”

“Then why are you here instead of him?” Slappy questioned, unable to believe Hannah.

He’s looking all over the town for you! He asked Zach and Champ to help too! He's at the Graveyard right now!” Hannah explained.

Slappy just blinked at Hannah; unsure of what to think.

“I can prove it if you just give me the phone.”

Hannah held her hand out to the dummy, waiting for him to make his choice. Slappy eyed her closely before looking down at her palm. With a short sigh of defeat, Slappy reached into his coat and took out her phone.

“Don't tell him I cried, please.” He requested as he passed the phone to Hannah.

Hannah gently took the phone out of Slappys hand and dialled the number to Stine.

“Hello?” Stine answered after a few seconds of dial tone.

“I found him, dad.” Hannah spoke into the phone.

Hannah heard a short gasp come out of her dads’ end of the line.

“Where is he?” He questioned with concern in his voice.

“He’s in a candy stall. It's raining pretty heavy here.” Hannah explained.

“I'm on my way. Just make sure he doesn't go anywhere else.”

Hannah heard dial tone come up after a seconds. She put away her phone in the pocket of her pants.

“Now we wait.” She said as she turned to face Slappy.

Hannah blinked in surprise when she saw that Slappy had fallen asleep. All the emotional venting most have strained and tired him out. Hannah quietly and gently picked him up and held him like a small child; ready to put him in the car when her father came.

After ten minutes her so, Hannah heard footsteps amongst the rain and thunder. She looked to the doorway to see her father with an umbrella. The girl gently stood up with Slappy in her arms. Stine observed the sight in front of him as Hannah went under the umbrella.

“What happened in here?” The writer asked.

“I think he had a breakdown. He just fell asleep when I called you.” Hannah answered back.

Stine sighed as he remembered how the same thing happened last night.

“Let's pick up the boys and go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fixed it because everything was written twice. >:(


	5. Not putting him back

Zach and Champ looked towards the front passenger seat of the car nervously. Hannah was holding what they considered as R.L Stine's most terrifying creation in her arms. Slappy was still asleep; occasionally twitching or muttering something now and then. Stine kept on his eyes on the road as the window wipers pushed away the droplets of rain. Champ leaned towards the passenger seat with shaking nerves.

"Is he actually asleep?" He questioned, afraid of what might happen if Slappy wakes up.

"As far as I can tell." Hannah answered back.

Zach eyed the passenger seat with mixed emotions in his head. The fact that the same monster who lead the rampage on Madison was in the car with the group and not in the trunk of the car. Zach looked towards Stine.

"So what's the plan?" He asked quietly.

"Hmm?" Stine kept his eyes on the road.

"Are we gonna open the book on him when we get back to the house?" Zach questioned quietly.

Stine shook his head as he stopped at a red light.

"We're not going to put him back." He answered.

Champ and Zach looked at each other with disbelief at Stines response.

"What do you mean you're not putting him back?!" Champ whispered.

Stine turned to face the boys before he spoke again.

"If I tell you both the truth, will you promise not to yell or freak out?" He asked of them.

Zach and Champ nodded at the request. Stine turned back to face the road as the light went green.

"I may have... Lied when I told you that Slappy escaped." The writer said, his grip tightening on the shearing wheel.

The boys both blinked in confusion at the writers answer.

"What do you mean?" Champ asked.

Hannah watched with patience, wondering how her father would tell them. Stine took a short breath before answering.

"I let him out on purpose."

Even though Stine was not looking at them, he knew how the boys were reacting. Champ started whispering into Zach's ear.

"I'm sure Stine is not under any mind control!" Zach whispered back.

Stine pulled into the driveway as the rain pounded on the windshield. He turned the key in the ignition; turning it off and pulling out the key.

"He's gotta be joking!" Champ uttered aloud as everyone got out of car.

"I'm not joking." Stine replied as he opened the door into the house.

Everyone quickly ran out of the rain and into the house; gaining refuge from the wet cold outside. Stine turned to face Hannah, who still had Slappy in her arms.

"I'll take him to the guest room upstairs." The writer said as Hannah passed the sleeping puppet to him.

Hannah and the boys watched as Stine held the demonic dummy in his arms and climbed up the stairs. Stine walked towards first door on the right of the hallway. He grabbed the nob and turned it; opening the unused guest room. Stine gently placed Slappy on the queen sized bed. The writer gently placed a pillow behind the dummy's head and pulled the blankets up to his chin. Stine looked down at Slappy; wandering if puppets could dream. The writer gave the dummy's head a light pat.

"We can talk when you're ready." He whispered softly.

Stine turned around to exit the room. The writer looked into the room as he slowly closed the door; being as silent as possible. With the door closed, Stine leaned against the wall and took off his glasses to clean them. He was not sure how Slappy would be in the morning, but he wanted to help him in any way he could. Stine put his glasses back on and went back down the stairs to see the kids talking.

"He was crying?" Zach asked with disbelief and his hands in his pockets.

"Yep. Green tears." Hannah answered back. "Looked as if glowing paint was leaking out of his eyes."

"Gross." Champ commented.

Before Hannah could respond to that, she looked up the stairs to see her father coming down.

"He's still asleep. He just needs time to rest." Stine explained to the group.

The kids looked at each other with looks of uncertainty. Zach spoke up.

"So, you're really going to let him stay?" Zach questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Stine crossed his arms and exhaled.

"Before you say anything, I'm well aware of what he did to the town and what he did to me." The writer began. "It's a bit hard to explain. I want to try and fix my relationship with Slappy. And try to help him change his ways. Rehabilitate him.

"Hypnotise him into being good?" Champ questioned.

"No, not by force. I understand if you don't agree with this. I don't expect you to understand."

The kids looked at each other knowingly. But they still had their doubts about what Stine had planned.

"We don't trust Slappy." Zach spoke with honesty.

"But we know that you don't plan on changing your mind about this." Hannah added.

"So we won't stop you." Champ finished.

Stine smiled slightly.

"I thank you all for saying that." He said sincerely.

"But if he hurts you or Hannah, I'll chop him into firewood." Zach said with crossed arms.

"Zach!" Hannah jabbed Zach in the arm with her elbow; making him flinch.

Before anyone could speak again, Champ's phone started going off. He checked it immediately.

"It's my mom." He said as he read the message. "She's wondering where I am. Sorry guys; gotta get home before she freaks out."

"I can get my mom to give you a lift." Zach replied as he Followed Champ to the door.

Before Zach could reach the door, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned back around to see Hannah looking up at him slyly.

"Thanks for helping us find Slappy." She spoke softly.

Zach shrugged a little as he tried to think of something to say. Even though Slappy was an evil little thing, he could not say no to the Stine family; even if Mr Stine was making a rash decision.

"You're welcome. Don't hesitate to call me if something goes wrong, Ok?"

"I can handle it. Besides; if Slappy tries anything, I'll put him in a trunk." Hannah joked.

Zach smiled a little before he stepped out the front door of the house; Champ waiting for him under cover from the rain.

"Zach, isn't your aunt dating Mr Stine?" Champ questioned.

"Yeah, why?"

"What if your aunt Lorraine finds out about Slappy?"

"Well Stine's gonna have a lot of explaining to do." Zach answered, pulling up the hood of his jacket and started the short walk to his house.

With the boys gone, only Hannah and Stine stood in the living room; unsure of what to do next. Hannah curled a bit of the hair in her ponytail as she looked down at the floor.

"You wanna order some pizza?" She asked.

"Might as well. I don't really feel like cooking." Stine replied.

The writer walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone to order pizza. Stine had the phone in his hand, but he stood in place. He turned his head slightly in Hannah's direction.

"Hannah; there's something I need to ask you." Stine spoke softly as he turned around.

"Ok, what?" Hannah replied, leaning against the kitchen counter.

Stine gripped the phone in his hands as he stared down at the floor.

"When Slappy unleashed the Blob that ate everyone on me, he started telling me what it was like to be locked in a book. He said that he wasn't able to move."

Stine lifted his head up and looked directly at Hannah.

"What was it like when you were in there?"

Hannah took a short breath as she moved a bit of her hair away from her face; stumped by the sudden question. She seemed a bit uncomfortable thinking about the memory.

"Well..." She began. "I wasn't frozen like he told you. But it was dark. All the monsters stared at me and Slappy. They're eyes were glowing."

Hannah folded her arms as she continued.

"He kept saying that you were going to abandon me, Like him. He said that you promised you would never do that to him. He might've been trying to make me feel guilty."

Stine looked back at the floor as Hannah finished. The writer put his hand through his chestnut coloured hair as he processed the information. If Slappy was trying to make anyone feel guilty, it had to be Stine. And Stine could not blame him.

"I'm going to have a talk with him tomorrow." He said calmly. "Maybe we can figure something out."

"Do you think he can change, dad?" Hannah questioned.

Stine lifted his head up with the phone in his line of sight.

"In all honesty, Hannah. I don't really know." Stine answered as he dialled the number for Pizza delivery.


	6. Understood

Slappy awoke slowly. His wooden eyelids opened to face the other side of the bed he found himself lying in. The dummy lifted himself off the soft surface with a low groan. Slappy looked in every direction of the room he was in. He knew it had to be in Stines house. The dummy spotted a full length mirror next to the right of the bed. He threw the mangled blankets and sheets off of him and crawled towards it. Slappy observed the visible changes in his appearance. The paint on his face was scratched and there was the small crack in his lower lip. The green stains from his breakdown from last night were gone and the paint that gave him his skin tone did not look as pale as it was before. But he still felt sick. Slappy glared at his reflection with disgust.

"Look at yourself." He started thinking. "You were a force to be reckoned with, now you're a mess."

Slappy turned away from the mirror and crawled out of the bed; climbing down the edge. The dummy made his way to the door that lead into the upstairs hallway; jumping up to reach the nob. Slappy opened the door a little bit to see if anyone was there. He opened it fully when he spotted no one. The dummy felt an uncanny silence within the house. He must have been the only one awake at the time. Slappy made his way down the stairs carefully, not wanting to fall down any of the steps in his sickly condition. The dummy stepped into the living room; walking past a couple pieces of furniture and over to the window. Slappy pushed the curtain away and took a look at the day-lit street outside.  
Slappy thought about how he almost forgot what sunlight looked like because of being trapped in a book for so long. He observed the wet shine on the pavement from yesterday's rain and noticed a giant puddle of water near in the footpath. The puppet did not look away from the sight; seemingly staring into space.

"Nice to see you up and about."

Slappy heard a familiar voice from behind him. He turned his head quickly to see Stine standing in the doorway with his hands folded across his front. The dummy turned the rest of his body to match his head.

"I thought you were still asleep." Slappy said to his creator.

"I've been up since eight AM. It's ten thirty. And Hannah has gone over to Zach's house in case you're wondering where she is." The writer explained.

Slappy growled a little as he remembered the boy who foiled his plans and put him through hell. Stine took a seat on the couch as Slappy watched his movements.

"I'd offer to make you some breakfast, but you don't really need to eat." Stine joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I could if I wanted to." Slappy snarled as he climbed onto the single sofa.

Stine nodded before he spoke again.

"So... How are you feeling?" The writer asked.

"A little better I suppose. I still feel like rubbish though." Slappy explained, curling up on the sofa.

Stine adjusted his glasses.

"I was hoping we could talk today." He spoke with gentle voice.

"Talking seems to be the only thing you want to do as of late." Slappy talked back.

"Yes, and for good reason."

The writer played around with a bit of loose fabric on the couch.

"I know what I did to you was-"

A knock on the front door interrupted Stine. The writer and the dummy flinched at the sound. Stine turned around as the knocking repeated.

"Oh dear." He muttered. "Slappy, you better-"

He turned back to tell his creation to hide. But Slappy was gone. Stine looked in every corner of the room, but the dummy disappeared completely. The knocking repeated a third time.

"Coming!" Stine called out and ran for the door.

Stine stopped in front of the door in a halt. The writer took hold of the nob with shaking nerves, turning it. He opened the door slightly to who it was. Stine almost gasped when he saw the one who knocked the door.

"Lorraine?"

Stine opened the door all the way when he saw his sweetheart standing there on the porch; smiling sweetly at him with her hands behind her back. Stine had no idea why she was here; not that he did not mind. It was probably a good thing that Slappy disappeared from the living room.

"W-what are you doing here?" The asked nervously. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, I just didn't know you were coming."

"You forgot your glasses from our date last week." Lorraine took a small black case containing a spare set of glasses from behind her back. "You left them in my car, and I just found them last night."

Stine muttered a quiet "oh" as he remembered their date from last Friday and gently took the case from Lorraine.

"T-thank you. I've been looking everywhere for these." Stine said in a slightly breathy tone.

The smile on Lorraine's face faded as she noticed how uneasy Stine looked.

"Are you okay? You look a little uneasy." Lorraine asked with concern.

"Well, we've had a mouse problem; been up since eight this morning." Stine explained.

The writer rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what's to do or say. He wanted to let Lorraine in, but he was afraid of what might happen if she sees Slappy. But he knew the dummy would not try to bring unwanted attention to himself and he knew if he did not at least invite Lorraine inside, she would know something was wrong.

"Would you like to come in?" Stine asked holding the door open.

"Why, thank you." Lorraine replied kindly as she came in. "Just how bad is your little mouse problem?"

"Oh, not too big." Stine closed the door. "It just disappears and then... reappears again."

As Stine and Lorraine their chat to the living Room, Slappy watched vacantly from his hiding spot under the sofa. His brown eyes followed the two humans as they spoke and sat down on the couch across from the sofa. The dummy's left eyebrow went up while the other stayed down.

"What's the lady from the police station doing here?" He questioned in his mind.

Slappy only became more confused as the woman acted lovingly and cheerful towards Stine as she told him some story about another pest control problem.

"That mouse must have been a mutant or something." Lorraine explained. "I mean, she put a whole bar of bait in the cupboard, it ate the whole thing, and it was still alive."

"That would make quite the story." Stine chuckled.

The writer took a short exhale as he leaped off the couch.

"I'm going to make some tea. Would you like a cup?" He asked kindly.

"I'd like that very much, thanks." Lorraine smiled at her sweetheart. "Oh, I forgot to give you something."

Before Stine could leave for the kitchen, Lorraine blew him a kiss. Stine smiled as he caught it in his hand and blew it back for her to catch. When Stine left the room, Lorraine got up off of the couch and started looking around; looking at the fancy interior of the room.

Slappy watched with unblinking eyes from his hiding place; his brows down and angry looking.

"What are doing with my papa, you-"

Before Slappy could finish his thought, he felt something fuzzy against his wooden hand. His brows went straight up as he saw a mouse sniffing him. Slappy tried to shoo it away without making noise.

"Go away." He whispered.

To Slappy’z misfortune, the mouse did not listen. The fuzzy rodent began to crawl into the sleeve of Slappy's coat. Slappy tried his best to ignore it, but the mouse began to go deeper into his coat.

"No, please don't go there!" He whispered in desperation.

But it was no use.

"AAAAAAAUGH!"

Slappy started flailing around as he rushed to get the mouse out of his clothes; rolling out from under the sofa into the open. The dummy shouted words that were impossible to make out as he reached into his coat and body. He quickly pulled back when he grabbed the mouse; taking it out and staring into its eyes.

"You little rodent!" He shouted at it. "You're gonna pay for violating my-"

"Oh my god..."

Slappy stopped shouting when he heard a female voice to the right of him. He slowly turned his head with his brows up to see Lorraine staring at him with wide eyes.

"Opps." Slappy muttered under his breath.

"Oh my god." Lorraine repeated, sounding on the verge of a panic attack.

Slappy stood up and let the mouse free, running away from the scene about to unfold.

"Please, don't panic." Slappy said to a frightened Lorraine, coming towards her.

"No, stay away from me!" Lorraine shouted out of fear, backing away.

"What did I just say?"

Lorraine grabbed one of the pillows off the couch and threw it at Slappy. Slappy grabbed the pillow as it hit his none-existent gut.

"Robert!" Lorraine shouted, grabbing another pillow to throw.

"Look, I'm not in the mood for a pillow fight!" Slappy said to the frightened woman.

Stine ran into the room as he heard Lorraine screaming in fear. He watched the madness in front of him as Lorraine threw another pillow at Slappy.

"Why did it have to be this chaotic?" He sighed in his head.

The writer quickly grabbed Lorraine by the arm, stopping her before she could throw another pillow.

"Lorraine, it's okay." Stine tried to calm her down.

"T-THAT THING WAS AT THE POLICE STATION!" Lorraine shuddered. "THAT DUMMY FROZE ME!"

Upon hearing the D word, Slappy snapped. He tore the pillow in his grip in two; feathers flying everywhere. In a fit of rage, Slappy threw the leftover fabric on the floor and stomped on it.

"SCREW THIS GARBAGE!" He shouted at the humans in front of him, making them silent. "I'M GOING BACK TO BED!"

With that, Slappy ran past Stine and Lorraine, and quickly climbed up the stairs. The pair heard the door to the guest room slam shot. Stine felt Lorraine hold onto him tightly; scared and shaking from the being she just saw.

"I'm sorry, Lorraine." The writer spoke gently to her.

"I thought they were all gone." Lorraine whimpered. "I thought you put them back in a book like you said."

"I did."

"B-but why is h-he-"

Stine held Lorraine close, calming her down enough to get her to stop shaking. He guided her back to the couch and got her to sit down.

"I'll explain everything."

Stine told Lorraine everything about what happened in the past few days. From Stine and his choice to let Slappy free and the runaway incident from last night. Throughout the explanation, Lorraine seemed to have calmed down.

"So I'm going to try and get him to change his ways, and maybe regain his trust." Stine finished explaining.

Lorraine looked away and stared down at the floor; seemingly lost in thought.

"If you never want to see me again, it's understandable." Stine said unemotionally.

The writer shivered slightly when he felt his hand being touched gently. Lorraine looked at him with a look of empathy and disbelief.

"Why would you say that? I'd never leave you." She said to him, sounding Shocked by his words.

Stine blinked in confusion at the kindness that Lorraine was showing him.

"I thought you wouldn't want anything to do with me after you found about Slappy and what I'm doing." The writer explained. "I didn't think you would understand."

"I would try." Lorraine nodded. "You told me about Hannah and I love her as if she was my daughter. I could warm up to Slappy. Even though he scares me. And because of what happened at the station."

Stine raised an eyebrow.

"Just what happened exactly?"

Lorraine played with a bit of fabric on her shirt as she thought of what to say.

"He and some bug-eyed monsters were there." Lorraine kept her explanation short. "And they froze me right after I called him dummy."

After hearing the last part of Lorraine's side of it, Stine let out a frustrated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"He really needs to get over that." He spoke with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Did I offend him? Do you think I should try and apologise?" Lorraine asked.

"You can try, but-"

Before Stine could finish his sentence, he heard foots leaving the room. He looked up to see Lorraine going up the stairs.

"Lorraine, wait!" He called out, almost falling off the couch.

As Stine clumsily made his way to the stairs, Lorraine was already in front of the guest room where Slappy was. She took a deep breath before knocking softly on the door.

"Slappy? It's me, Lorraine." She said in a kind and friendly tone.

"Go away!" Slappy yelled from inside the room.

Stine made it up the stairs just as Slappy replied. Lorraine ignored Slappy's rudeness.

"I'm sorry that I called you the D word." She spoke again.

"Apology accepted, now leave me alone!" Slappy yelled with a raised voice.

Lorraine eyed the door before turning to face Stine.

"Told you he was stubborn." He said to her.

"I AM NOT!"

Stine rolled his eyes away from the door and lend Lorraine back down stairs.

"He's acting like a child having a temper tantrum." Lorraine commented on Slappy's behaviour.

"Well, that's pretty much what he is most of the time." Stine replied in agreement. "Considering what he said happened to him while stuck in the book, it's understandable."

"What happened?" Lorraine asked out of curiosity.

Stine adjusted his glasses as he took a seat back on the couch.

"Apparently, the monsters turned on him and wanted to rip him apart because they think it's his fault that they failed. I know that he wasn't lying, he looks like he's been through hell." Stine explained.

Lorraine twirled a strand of her hair in thought.

"He looked pretty worn down when I saw him." She commented, remembering the scratches on Slappy's painted face.

"It probably adds to his bitterness." Stine rambled. "I'd fix it if I was a painter, but that's not my art form."

Lorraine sat down next to Stine when he stared into space.

"Funny you should say that." She said to him.

Stine looked back at Lorraine, giving her his full attention.

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

Lorraine asked him to come closer and started whispering into his ear. Stine listened to her words closely. His face showed a bit of interest and surprise as Lorraine continued whispering. Stine looked back up when Lorraine finished.

"They have one here in town?" He questioned.

"I have a friend that works there. Anything that's old fashioned, or dolls and antiques is part of his specialty." Lorraine explained. "He can get it done in three hours depending on what he has to work on."

Stine blinked in interest. He put his hand up to his chin and started thinking.

...

Slappy laid on the bed with the sheets covering his small form; knees pulled up to his chest. His eyes were closed in thought. Until he heard a knock at the door.

"Slappy, it's me."

Stines voice came from the outside. Slappy wanted to ignore it.

"I'm coming in, just warning you."

The dummy heard the creaking of the door and heard the light being turned on. Slappy let out a brief sigh of frustration.

"What do you want?" He spoke in an irritated tone.

"Just wanted to check on you. Lorraine went home. I told her everything." Stine explained.

Slappy ignored the writers' words. He felt a hand on the sheet covering him.

"I have a surprise for you." Stine said sincerely.

"I don't want any surprises." Slappy replied, crawling deeper into the bed.

"This is a good surprise; I promise."

Stine gently pulled the sheet away and exposed Slappy to the light; making him cover his eyes.

"If you think taking me to the zoo will fix our relationship, you're mistaking." The puppet said in disgust.

"We're not going to the zoo."

Slappy raised an eyebrow at his creator.

"Then where are we going?"

"Well, it's somewhere in town." Stine continued. "But there's something I need you to do for me."

"What do you mean?" Slappy questioned, eyebrow still raised.

"I need you to go to sleep for a few hours. At least four or five."

Slappy stood up on the bed, putting his hands on his hips and staring at Stine with distrust.

"What if I wake up inside a book?" He questioned. "How do I know that you're not lying to me?"

"You tell me." Stine said knowingly.

Slappy scanned the writer over at least four times; searching for the signs of a lie. Slappy relaxed a little when he found nothing. He let his arms hang at his sides.

"I, suppose you're telling the truth." The dummy spoke meekly.

"You can trust me Slappy. All I want you to do is fall asleep." Stine explained. "Can you do that for me?"

Slappy looked to the left of him as he had mixed feelings. Part of him wanted to just relax and let him trust his creator, but the other part wanted to keep saying no to what he had to offer. Slappy was too tired to have any arguments with Stine. With a short sigh, Slappy fell backwards on the mattress, closed his eyes, and went into a dreamless sleep.


	7. Fixed but still broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stine finally gets Slappy to talk to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit of crying in this chapter, so sorry it's OOC. It's Mostly Slappy that mighty be OOC.

"Slappy. Wake up."

Slappy woke up to the sound of Stine's voice. His eyelids fluttered open to find himself sitting on the sofa with his creator and the three teens looking at him. Hannah and the one called Zach seemed calm while the one called Champ stood behind Zach and looked nervous. Stine smiled a little when Slappy looked up at him.

"How can he even sleep?" Champ whispered to Hannah.

"I honestly don't know." Hannah answered back.

Slappy straightened himself up on the sofa. His eyes scanned the living room; realising they were still at home.

"I thought you said you were going to take me somewhere." His brows narrowed in Suspicion; looking directly at Stine.

"I did." Stine answered back; a small smile on his face.

The writer turned to face his daughter.

"Hannah, would you hand the mirror to me please?" He requested, holding his hand out.

Hannah nodded and picked up a handheld mirror from the cupboard. She carefully passed it down to her father. Stine kneeled down in front of Slappy with the mirror facing away from the puppet.

"I hope this makes you feel a little better." The writer said with a slightly nervous tone.

Slappy raised an eyebrow at his creator. With shaking nerves, Stine turned the mirror around so Slappy could see his reflection. The puppets eyebrows went up when he saw himself in the reflective glass. Slappy took the mirror out of Stine's hand and took a good look at himself.

"You... You fixed me?"

The scratches on his face were gone, and the crack in his bottom lip disappeared. The marks on his nose and chin were still there. Slappy gently placed his fingers against the new paint; staring with disbelief. Stine smiled at the sight while Hannah and the boys observed vacantly.

"Lorraine told me about an antique restoration shop in town." Stine explained. "She thought that it might cheer you up if we got your face repainted and fixed your suit. I asked the painter to keep the marks on your nose and chin though. Mainly because they make you unique in a way."

Slappy stayed silent; still looking into the mirror. The smile on Stine's face faded, thinking that Slappy was not happy with the surprise.

"Slappy?"

The puppet lowered the mirror down and looked directly at his creator.

"This was Lorraine's idea?" He questioned; finding it hard to believe.

"Well, yes. After I told her everything when you ran upstairs, she calmed down and she let the information sink in." Stine explained.

"She's willing to give you a chance." Zach added.

The teen crossed his arms and looked away.

"Even after what you did to her." He muttered.

Slappy's brows went down.

"Let me make something clear." He said calmly; pointing at Zach. "The bugged eyed aliens froze your aunt; not me. And I warned her not to say the D word."

"You really need to get over that." Zach responded; shaking his head.

Slappy just turned his head and crossed his arms; not wanting to hear about his flaws. Stine gently took the mirror back from Slappy.

"So you're happy with how it turned out?" Champ asked nervously from behind Zach.

Slappy shifted in his seat a little.

"I suppose." He shrugged; unsure of how to answer. "But I don't understand."

Stine and the kids seemed a little surprised by Slappy's statement.

"What don't you understand?" Hannah asked curiously.

"Why she would even suggest it." The puppet answered back. "Stine, you saw how she reacted when she saw me. She was practically screaming and she was throwing pillows at me. Why would she even consider doing something nice for me after what happened?"

"I did explain everything to her." Stine answered back. "And she did say sorry to you for saying the D word."

Slappy stank into his seat as he remembered his behaviour.

"I didn't really accept her apology. I just said that so she would go away." The puppet admitted.

"Well, she's going to come over tomorrow. So maybe you can talk to her then." Stine suggested.

Slappy sat up straight in his seat, uncrossed his arms and looked up at Stine with a raised brow.

"Just what are you and her doing together anyway?" He questioned in Suspicion and curiosity.

Stine was taken back by the sudden question. The writer looked to the right; trying to pick the right words.

"He's not going to like it." Hannah thought to herself.

Zach and Champ watched as Stine finally said something.

"Lorraine and I... Lorraine and I are dating."

Slappy's eyebrows went all the way up when he heard that. Stine was expecting Slappy to get mad and start yelling. But he got the opposite reaction.

A quiet chuckle escaped from Slappy. Then it turned into uncontrollable laughter. The puppet put his arms around his non-existent stomach as he continued to laugh; taking a few breaths in between. Stine and the kids became confused by this reaction.

"That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!" Slappy said through the laughter.

"Y-you're not mad?" Stine asked, almost unnerved by Slappy's laughing fit.

"Should I be mad at something that's impossible!?" The puppet continued laughing. "You're too scared to go near women, let along go out with them!"

Stine almost turned red from embarrassment at the puppets words. He looked at the kids to see them cracking up a bit themselves.

"Is that really true, dad?" Hannah asked, sounding amused.

Stine nodded a little.

"High school was a dark time for me." He said as he adjusted his glasses.

"And I suppose you're probably going to marry her too!" Slappy started to calm down from his laughing fit.

Stine shrugged in response.

"Not anytime soon, but maybe someday." The writer answered back.

Slappy's laugher immediately ceased. He looked at Stine with a blank face.

"You weren't joking?" The puppet asked again.

"No, I wasn't." Stine answered back.

Slappy turned his head just a bit and looked away. A quiet "huh" escaped from his mouth.

"Well... Good for you." The puppet said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "But if you do tie the knot, I'm not going to call her mother; she'll have to earn that title from me."

Stine had an uncertain look on his face before he turned to face the kids.

"There're cookies in the kitchen if you want any." He told them; giving Hannah a signal.

Hannah nodded and turned to face Zach and Champ.

"C'mon guys." She gently pushed them towards the kitchen.

Champ kept trying to look back, but Hannah was pushing him forward. When the kids were out of the room, Stine turned back to Slappy. The puppet had his arms crossed and sat back into his chair.

"Now we can talk." Stine finally said after a moment of silence.

Slappy just turned his eyes the other way and curled up in his seat. Stine adjusted his glasses before he spoke further.

"Slappy, I know what I did to you was wrong. But you have to understand. You were getting out of control. I didn't know what else to do."

Slappy looked at his creator with disgust in his brown, glassy eyes.

"You could've just told me." The puppet spat out.

"I told you fifty times." Stine replied calmly.

Slappy stank into his seat with his knees up to his chest; not wanting to listen to anything Stine had to say. Stine sighed and took his glasses off to rub the bridge of his nose.

"I really didn't want to do that to you." The writer continued.

"And yet, you showed absolutely no remorse when you did it." Slappy said with a frustrated tone.

"Let me finish, Slappy." Stine slightly raised his voice; making Slappy quiet.

Stine put his glasses back on as he continued.

"I know you don't trust me. But when I say that I want to make it up to you, I mean it."

Slappy raised one eyebrow in interest.

"Truth is, you were the one I could really talk to out of all my creations. You always took the time to listen to me when I needed someone to talk to and be there for me when things got stressful. But I made a mistake. It wasn't you."

Slappy's eyebrows slowly went up as Stine continued his confession.

"I didn't think about how you felt about it. And I felt terrible about it for so long. I know that you're still angry with me for locking you away. I'm not asking you to forgive me. I just what us to be a family again. If you don't want that and say no, I understand."

Stine lowered his head and gripped the fabric of his sleeve. He felt an intense weight disappearing from his shoulders when he finished speaking to his creation. He closed his eyes as he waited for Slappy to say no and attempt to attack Stine in rage.

"I want to forgive you."

Stine quickly lifted his head up to see Slappy loosening up in his seat; trying not look directly into Stine's eyes.

"But I can't." The puppet continued, sounding sadder this time. "I thought it was going to be you and me against the world. I was just being what you wrote me to be."

Slappy's eyebrows went down as green liquid started to emerge from his eyes. Stine blinked in confusion at the sight.

"You could've just tried to talk to me. But you didn't even flinch when you locked me in that book! Even after the times when I managed to escape, you kept avoiding me like the plague! It always took an attempted town invasion to get your attention!"

Stine watched with surprise as the green liquid fell from Slappy's eyes. The puppet started shaking as he continued.

"I was just so angry at you." He croaked, trying to control his sobs. "I scared away those bullies who were hurting you like you wished. I know I went a bit overboard after that, but... I thought it was what you wanted!"

Slappy laid his head down on the arm of the chair. He didn't want Stine to see him being an emotional mess.

"I can't trust you anymore." Slappy sobbed softly. "I just can't."

Stine felt a cold feeling in the pit of stomach. Watching Slappy have a breakdown was already hard to watch, but seeing him cry like a regular person was actually heart breaking. The writer couldn't stop himself from what he was about to do. Stine got off of his spot on the couch and made his over to Slappy. The writer gently put his hand on his creation's back; trying to calm him down.

"It's alright, Slappy. Take a few breathes." Stine spoke softly.

Slappy turned his head a little to look up at Stine. The puppet made a sniffling sound as he got his sobbing under control.

"I don't understand... After everything I did, you're willing to help me." He spoke in a foggy voice; turning away again.

Slappy almost let himself get lost in his thoughts. Before that could happen, he felt himself being picked up by a gentle pair of hands. Stine sat down on the floor as he held Slappy in his arms like a small child.

"Because it's the right thing to do." The writer said with a warm smile.

Slappy blinked out of confusion. He still couldn't understand why Stine could be so forgiving after their relationship became unhealthy and toxic. Before he could say anything, Stine pulled a tissue from his pocket and gently wiped away the green liquid from the puppets eyes. Slappy shivered at the touch of the white material.

"I know things went bad before. But this time, it will be different; I promise." Stine spoke gently.

Slappy looked at Stine sharply; trying to find the lie. He found nothing. With a sigh of defeat, the puppet let himself fall limp into his creator's chest, even if the love and attention made him feel weird and uncomfortable.

"Thanks... Stine." Slappy spoke in a tired whisper.

Stine smiled a little as he held Slappy closer.

"You can call me papa if you want." The writer said in a sincere tone.

Slappy shivered a little when he heard Stine say that. Not from disgust or hate, but from surprise. The puppet looked up at his creator with disbelief in his eyes.

"Y-you really mean that?" He questioned with a shudder.

Stine nodded as he smiled knowingly. Slappy blinked a little before a short, breathy and quiet laugh escaped from him. Without any hesitation, Slappy let himself relax and enjoy being held by his creator. While he still had a bit of trouble with trusting Stine, he just wanted to let his guard down and enjoy the moment.

"Ok then... Papa." He spoke softly, feeling at ease for the first time in years.


	8. Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slappy and Lorraine spend time together.

The next day, Stine and Hannah were getting ready to go to school. With crossed arms, Slappy watched as Stine freshened up for the day. The puppet had his left brow raised.

"I don't see why I can't come with you." Slappy said as he watched his creator freshening up.

"I don't think living puppets are allowed at school, Slappy." Stine answered as he tied his tie. "And if I did take you to school, everyone might recognise you and freak out."

"No one saw me when we attacked the school." Slappy corrected, referring to the town invasion incident.

"We're not taking any chances."

Stine took a bottle of yellow-brown liquid from the cupboard behind the mirror. Slappy watched as Stine dabbed a drop of it onto his finger and rubbed it into his neck.

"You're wearing perfume?" The puppet questioned, almost laughing.

Stine went red in the face.

"It-it's colon!" The writer raised his voice slightly, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Sure it is." Slappy rolled his eyes the other way.

Stine ignored the comment.

"I called Lorraine after you went to sleep last night." He informed as he put the bottle back. "She's coming over to look after you today."

Slappy's eyebrows went straight up. If he had more facial expression, the smile on his face would have been whipped clean off. His eyebrows went back down as he gave Stine an icy glare.

"You asked someone to babysit me!?" He questioned, not happy about it all.

"Not someone, I asked Lorraine. And I didn't say babysit; I said look after." Stine corrected.

"It's pretty much the same thing!" Slappy argued. "I don't need to be watched over like a child! What could possibly happen if you left me home by myself?"

Stine looked down at Slappy with a look of disbelief.

"Does that question really need an answer?" The writer replied with a raised eyebrow.

Slappy didn't respond. He turned his head with a pout. Stine kneeled down to Slappy's level.

"Lorraine won't make you do anything you wouldn't like. She said that she's going to bring some movies that you can both watch." Stine explained.

Slappy just let out a short throaty grumble. Stine shook his head slightly.

"Are you worried that she might bring up the incident at the police station?" Stine asked sincerely.

Slappy stopped being so stubborn and turned around. His eyes were facing the left; trying not to look at Stine.

"A little." The puppet answered nervously.

"Well, don't be." Stine gently placed his hand on Slappy's shoulder. "I'm sure the both of you will hit it off and bare no ill will."

Slappy just shrugged as he flicked a piece of fluff off of his suit.

"Ready to go, dad?" Hannah called from the hallway.

"Just about, Hannah." Stine replied.

The writer quickly stood up and made his way to the hallway. Slappy followed him.

"Now, Slappy. Lorraine should be here in a few minutes. Don't answer the door unless it's her." Stine explained as he made his way down the stairs to meet Hannah.

"And don't go into my room." Hannah added, giving her father his briefcase for school.

"And don't set fire to the house."

Slappy vacantly watch Stine and Hannah as they walked out of the door and out of the house. Before the door closed, Stine poked his head in to look at Slappy before leaving.

"Just try to be nice to Lorraine, please." The writer requested.

"You know I can't promise too much." Slappy sat down on the stairs.

Stine briefly sighed.

"We'll be back in six hours or so." The writer finally said before closing the door and leaving.

Slappy stayed on his spot on the stairs as he heard the sound of the car starting and backing out of the drive way. When the sound was gone, Slappy still sat there. The puppet had no idea what to do with himself. He could wait there for Lorraine to come, but that might be boring. He did wander where Stine might have put the manuscript. But he remembered what his so called friends would want to do to him if he let them out. Slappy looked into the entrance of the living room. He was in there a few times yesterday, but didn't get a good look.

Getting up off the stairs, Slappy jumped off of them and made his way inside. Most of what was in there was nothing new. Apart from a rectangular black box under the television. Slappy went up to it to get a closer look. The numbers on it were glowing in blue and there were weird looking buttons on it; one of them being a triangle with a small line under it. Giving in to curiosity, the puppet pressed the button. Only to get hit in the nose by something out of the black box.

"Ow." He muttered as he covered his nose, even though it did not hurt that much.

Before Slappy could react any more, a knock at the front door came into hearing. Slappy turned around to the door. He quietly pressed his ear against the wood; wandering if it was who he thought it was.

"Anyone home?"

A familiar female voice called from outside. And it was not Hannah. Slappy loathed what was to come today.

"We don't wanna buy anything." The puppet called back.

"It's me, Lorraine."

Slappy stood on the tip of his shoes and tried to reach the door knob with no success. With a slight groan, he tried to jump for it. Still no success.

"I hate being short!" The puppet muttered angrily.

Before he could get any more frustrated, Slappy heard the click of the door. He turned to see Lorraine coming in. She was in very colourful clothing and had a green and blue striped bag on her shoulder. She looked down at Slappy with a warm smile.

"The door was unlocked." She said in a friendly tone.

Slappy turned his head and crossed his arms; all that jumping and reaching being for nothing. Lorraine got down in her knees so she could be at Slappy's level.

"You look good today." She commented on his freshly painted face.

Slappy looked back for a second before turning away again.

"T-thanks." He muttered. "Was it really your idea?"

"It was more of a suggestion then an idea." Lorraine replied rather bashfully. "Do you feel better?"

"I don't feel sick anymore if that's what you mean."

Lorraine nodded and stood back up with her bag over her shoulder. Slappy already took notice of it, but now he was interested in its contents.

"What's in the bag?" He questioned.

"Well, I brought some movies we could watch. But I don't know what you like." Lorraine explained.

"Well, I haven't watched a movie in years. I've been busy being stuck in a book."

Lorraine quietly nodded.

"I'm sure there might be something in here that you'll like." She said with a slightly nervous shake in her voice.

Slappy watched vacantly as the woman walked into the living room and went up to the black box.

"The DVD player is already on?" Lorraine exclaimed in slight surprise.

"That box hit me in the nose." Slappy explained as he climbed onto the couch.

"Oh."

Lorraine picked up the bag and gave it to Slappy.

"You can look inside and pick what you want to watch." She explained.

As Lorraine continued setting up the DVD player, Slappy started going through the bag. A lot of the films in there had some odd titles. Monster house, Muppets, Captain America, Breakfast club, Lego movie, grumpy old men; the list went on. One movie caught his interest. The DVD he picked up had a picture of a white ghost with a Red Cross going through it. He looked at Lorraine.

"How about this one?" Slappy held the DVD towards Lorraine.

Lorraine came back over and looked at the movie Slappy picked.

"Ghostbusters?" She read the title, sounding almost surprised. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want you to get offended or anything."

"Why, is the D word in there?" Slappy asked in response.

Lorraine thought for a moment.

"I don't think so." She answered.

"Then I won't get offended."

Lorraine shrugged indifferently.

"Okay then." She crawled back to the DVD player. "So, how's your papa?"

Slappy shifted in his spot on the couch.

"He's fine." He answered quietly. "Since when did Stine have a job at a school? He hates being around other people."

"He started teaching English after the whole monster invasion incident." Lorraine explained as she finished setting up the movie. "Hannah's going to school too."

Slappy rolled his eyes at the mention of his "replacement".

"Can't see why I couldn't come." He muttered; loud enough for Lorraine to hear.

"You probably wouldn't like it. There're a lot of kids at school." Lorraine took a seat next to Slappy.

Before Slappy could say anything, the movie started playing; opening on a scene in a library. While Lorraine was getting transfixed by the film, Slappy had another thought on his mind. The puppet looked up at Lorraine.

"Why aren't you afraid?"

Lorraine lost focus on the film and looked down at Slappy.

"Hmm?" She mumbled in question.

"You were terrified of me yesterday. But not today. Why?"

Lorraine shifted in her spot as she tried to think of way to explain.

"Well... I try to put everyone's view into perspective." She began. "I mean, we did get off on a bad start yesterday. But after Stine explained what was going on, I figured that you were just... Angry."

Slappy looked back at the TV as the title of the movie appeared on screen. The puppet shank into his seat as he leaned against the back.

"I guess I was pretty mad." He spoke softly.

With a brief exhale, Slappy sat up straight and looked up at Lorraine.

"When you tried to apologise to me yesterday, I didn't really accept it. I just said that so you would go away. So... Now I accept your apology. And... I'm sorry about what happened at the police station."

Lorraine smiled warmly as she gently picked Slappy up and placed him on her lap.

"That's okay." She spoke softly. "I won't hold a grudge."

Slappy raised an eyebrow at Lorraine.

"Why not?" He asked.

"I just don't think it's healthy." Lorraine answered with a shrug.

Slappy looked back at TV; thinking about what Lorraine said to him.

A few minutes into the movie, Slappy started laughing at the scene of the characters finding and running away from a ghost in the library.

"HA! What a bunch of cowards!" The puppet said through laughs.

Lorraine almost starting laughing herself. She was actually starting to enjoy seeing Slappy being happy. Stine would be pleased that he was enjoying something without someone getting hurt.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
At the Madison high school library, Hannah stared down at her workbook with her left hand on her forehead and a pen in her right. She wrote down a continuous stream of words on the paper. But her mind was in a different place. Just then, a familiar shadow casted over her work.

"Catching up on some homework, Hannah?"

Hannah looked up to see her father smiling at her.

"Yep. That's what I'm doing." She answered; going back to her paper.

The smile on Stine's face quickly faded into a look of concern. The writer took a seat across from his daughter.

"Is there anything on your mind?" He asked as he folded his hands.

Hannah stopped writing and lifted her head. She looked directly at her father as she put down at pen.

"Aren't you just a little worried?" She questioned with a hint of worry. "What if Lorraine is in danger? How do you know that 'Pinocchio' hasn't found the book and let all the other monsters out?"

Stine sighed as he ran his hand through his dark hair before looking back at Hannah.

"I am worried, Hannah." The writer answered calmly. "But we can't linger on it. Lorraine said she would call me if anything goes wrong."

Hannah crossed her arms and looked away from her father.

"I just can't see him changing." She spoke in saddened tone.

Stine nodded briefly before speaking.

"I know it seems impossible. But I also know that it will just take some time."

Before Hannah could reply, the sound of a ringtone come of Stine. The writer put his hand in his pocket and took out his phone, looking at the screen.

"Is Lorraine calling you?" Hannah asked, fearing the worst.

"No, it's a text message." Stine answered. "And there's an image attached."

Hannah watched as Stine attempted to view the message. A smile appeared on his face, making Hannah curious about the text.

"Look at this."

Stine handed the phone to Hannah. With her curiosity rising, she took the phone out of her father's hand and looked at the message. Her eyes blinked in surprise. The message was a photo of Lorraine smiling at the camera. Slappy was behind her on the couch; lying face down with a blanket over his body. Under the photo, there were the words.

'Little guy tuckered himself out . <3'

"See? Nothing to get worked up about." Stine reassured.

Hannah did not know how to respond. All she could do was shrug and say two words.

"I guess."


	9. The Doll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slappy and Lorraine make a terrible mistake when they look through the attic

"So, did you like the movie?"

Having just woken up from a short nap, Slappy rubbed the tiredness from his eyes. The puppet looked up at Lorraine when he was done.

"Yeah." The puppet said with a shrug. "Though those ghosts didn't look anything like the ones I know."

"I guess they all look different, like people." Lorraine commented.

"No seriously. I've never seen a ghost that was covered in bubbles and could turn into a giant marshmallow."

Lorraine giggled at Slappys’ comment.

"So what do you wanna do now?"

Slappy just shrugged in response.

"I don't know." He said. "For some reason, I don't know how to have fun without creating havoc."

"Oh come on, I'm sure we can have fun without that." Lorraine commented playfully.

Slappy looked towards the television as he thought of something to do. He looked back up at Lorraine a few seconds later.

"I don't think I've seen all of the house." He answered, looking towards the direction of the stairs.

"Well, let's explore a little!" Lorraine proclaimed, picking Slappy up off of the couch.

Slappy flinched at the feeling of being held up and lifted. Lorraine gently put him back down, thinking she that she might have provoked him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think that through." She quickly apologised.

"No, no; it's fine." The puppet reassured. "It's... Just been a long time since anyone did that without me asking. If you wouldn't mind..."

Slappy held his arms out to Lorraine; looking away from her in embarrassment. Lorraine smiled at the puppet. She bent down and gently picked him up; holding him close to her in her arms.

"Don't be embarrassed." Lorraine reassured.

Slappy looked down at the floor from his place in Lorraine's arms, shaking his head.

"I'm not embarrassed. It's just... Really high." He commented.

"You probably just need to get used to it again." Lorraine smiled lovingly, making her way to the stairs.

Slappy quietly latched onto Lorraine's blouse; not wanting to fall down the stairs.

"So what part of the house do you wanna explore first?" Lorraine asked.

Slappy looked in several directions. He looked up at the ceiling to see a rope hanging from it.

"What's that?" He pointed to the dangling rope.

"I think that goes up to the attic." Lorraine answered.

"Can we go in?"

Slappy looked up Lorraine with a playful grin that shouted 'please'. Lorraine raised an eyebrow at the puppet.

"Are you sure? I've never been in there myself." She questioned. "And there might be a lot of dust."

"I can handle it." Slappy crossed his arms with pout.

Lorraine chuckled at Slappy's childish behaviour.

"Alright then."

Lorraine reached for the rope and pulled it down, opening the ceiling and bringing down a ladder. Lorraine gently placed Slappy on one of the steps. The puppet quickly climbed up the ladder and into the attic. Slappy stopped at the top of the steps and slowly rotated his head 360 degrees; eyeing all the boxes and other contents of the dusty attic. Lorraine followed the puppet into the dimly lit space. Slappy quickly ran over to a cardboard box. The puppet opened the box and peeked inside.

"Oh, I like this!" Slappy said as he reached into the box.

Lorraine climbed into the attic, brushing off some dust off her knees. Just as she did so, Slappy came up to her; holding a plastic pumpkin in front of his face.

"This reminds me of one of my friends." The puppet said in a playful tone.

"You found the Halloween decorations." Lorraine smiled.

Slappy lowered the decoration and took a good look at it. He tried to recall what Halloween was, having a bit of trouble remembering.

"Halloween..."

Lorraine gave Slappy a look of concern when she noticed how confused he seemed.

"Yeah, when people dress up as monsters and go out asking people for candy." She reminded the puppet. "I thought it would've been your favourite holiday."

Slappy let out a quiet laugh at Lorraine's comment.

"So was April fool’s day." The puppet remarked, putting the pumpkin down.

Slappy turned back to the boxes; curious of their contents. Lorraine picked the pumpkin up and followed the puppet, putting the decoration back where he found it.

"I wonder what's in this one." Slappy spoke with a hint of playfulness in his voice.

The puppet opened another cardboard box and dived right in. A few seconds in, Lorraine heard loud grunts coming from the box.

"Are you ok, Slappy?" She asked, coming over to the box Slappy climbed in.

Lorraine looked into the cardboard box. She covered her mouth, stopping herself from smiling and laughing when she saw Slappy. The puppet got himself tangled up and trapped in festive lights. Slappy struggled against the colourful wiring.

"Hang on, let me help you." Lorraine reached in to help Slappy.

"Don't tell Hannah about this. I don't want her laughing at me." Slappy requested, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Don't worry, I won't tell." Lorraine smiled at the puppet, finishing untangling him.

Slappy climbed out of the box and landed on the wooden floor, brushing himself off.

"So much stuff in here, I don't know where to look next." Slappy looked around the room like a giddy child.

"Let's split up and see what's in all of these boxes." Lorraine suggested.

"Yes!"

Lorraine and Slappy quickly split up and started going through the rest of the boxes. Slappy found more Halloween decorations and an old television while Lorraine found old clothes and some H.P Lovecraft books. While Slappy was playing with the buttons on the television, Lorraine found another box. But this one was not cardboard like the others. This one was a wooden chest. And the lock was broken. Lorraine tilted her head sideways in curiosity. She made her way to the chest and placed her hand on the wood. With her curiosity peeking, Lorraine lifted the lid of the chest; blinking in confusion at its contents.

"I didn't think Papa was into that sort of thing." Slappy said as he came over. "So what's in-"

Slappy fell silent when he saw what was in the chest. The puppet started shaking when Lorraine picked up what was inside it. An old dusty manuscript with a worn-out lock. Slappy shook his head as he backed away.

"No, put that away." He muttered.

Hearing him, Lorraine turned to face Slappy.

"What do mean-"

"I said put it down!"

Lorraine flinched from Slappy snapping at her and quickly put the book back in the chest. Slappy quickly reformed himself and realised what he just did.

"Sorry." The puppet lowered his head, still shaking. "I thought that was the book. I didn't mean to yell."

Lorraine went over to Slappy and put her arms around him, getting him to stop shaking.

"No, no. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She reassured.

Slappy raised an eyebrow at Lorraine as she let him go.

"I wasn't scared." The puppet lied from embarrassment. "But thanks."

"Maybe that wasn't the manuscript." Lorraine suggested. "It looked really old and dusty."

Slappy blinked a little at Lorraine's remark. She was probably right. Though Slappy was still a little paranoid about it

"M-maybe I should look at the title." The puppet suggested, slowly going forward towards the chest. "Papa probably called it something like Slappy's revenge or something."

Lorraine watched observantly as Slappy carefully looked into the chest. The label on the manuscript was dirty and covered in dust. Slappy needed to get a better look at it. Carefully, he reached into the chest and gently wiped away the dirt on the label. Slappy read the title.

"Bride of the living dummy?"

Slappy raised an eyebrow at the sound of the title. It must be a book in his saga, but the word at the front was unknown to him. Slappy shrugged and turned away from the chest to look back at Lorraine.

"It's not the book." The puppet sighed with relief.

While Slappy began to walk away, the book started shaking.

"What was I worried about?" The puppet laughed.

Slappy noticed that Lorraine was looking beyond him. The puppet raised an eyebrow at the woman's nervous expression.

"What?" Slappy question, eyebrow still raised.

The shaking became more violent and started shaking the chest. Slappy turned around to see the shaking chest, a bright light bursting from inside it. The puppet's eyebrows went straight up as the chest tumbled over; the books inside falling out. Including the one with the weak lock.

Before Slappy could even react, the lock broke apart and the pages of the manuscript opened; hitting Slappy and throwing him across the room like an invisible punch. Lorraine gasped as Slappy fell into a pile of unused cardboard boxes. Her attention turned to the newly opened manuscript as a being began to take form.

From the ink formed a small figure. At first it looked like a little girl, but it was anything but human. When the ink finished forming and the light faded away, Lorraine could see the newly formed monster. It was a female plastic doll. The doll was wearing a white puffy knee-length dress with a pink ribbon tied around her waist, with black dress-shoes and white socks. Her face resembled that of a child, with make-up(purple eyeshadow and pink lipstick) and long eyelashes. Her hair was blonde with puffy curls, and had a Pink ribbon on the left side of her head. The doll opened her pale blue eyes; quickly becoming disgusted by the dusty attic she found herself in.

"What a dump." She spoke with disgust in her voice, flicking back a bit of her hair.

Lorraine sat still as the doll looked in her direction. The living doll raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hey, who're you?" She questioned in a harsh tone.

Lorraine took a small gulp of saliva out of fear. Before she could answer, grunting sounds came from the direction Slappy fell in. Both ladies turned their attention to the box pile as Slappy climbed out; rubbing his forehead while groaning in discomfort. While Lorraine looked at Slappy with concern, the doll covered her mouth as she gasped loudly.

"Slappy!"

A wide grin came onto her face before she ran up to Slappy, throwing herself at him and hugging him. Much to Slappy's confusion and disgust. Slappy tried to escape the dolls tight grip, but she only hugged tighter.

"Oh, my darling! My handsome prince!" The doll cooed with a squeal in her already high voice.

Slappy managed to slip his right arm out of the tight hug and pushed the doll off of him.

"Who are you!?" The puppet questioned.

The smile on the doll's face faded away as she blinked.

"Slappy, it's me; Mary Ellen." She tried to remind him, maintaining a smile.

Slappy just shook his head in disbelief.

"I don't even know who you are." The puppet argued.

Again the smile on Mary Ellen's faded. This time turning into a sinister grimace.

"Oh, you don't?" She spoke with a growl.

Slappy's eyebrows went up in discomfort as he tried to back away from the doll, eyeing Lorraine and hoping she would do something. Lorraine quietly stood up from her spot while Mary Ellen was busy. The doll looked at Slappy, her face just inches away from his face.

"Of course you wouldn't know me." She spoke in a harsh tone. "Stine didn't give me the chance to know you."

Slappy backed into the box pile as he quickly eyed Lorraine, who was now holding a large box and sneaking towards Mary Ellen.

"Oh, you know my Papa?" The puppet questioned, distracting the doll.

"Of course I know that fat washed up loser!" Mary Ellen spat out the obvious. "He created me after he put you awa-"

Lorraine dropped the box over Mary Ellen's head. She held it down as the doll started yelling and shaking to get out. Slappy quickly ran for the hallway.

Lorraine ran as soon as she let go of the box, letting it fall with Mary Ellen struggling to get out. Lorraine quickly made her way back into the hallway with Slappy and prepared to close the way into the attic. Mary Ellen pulled herself out of the cardboard box, her hair getting in front of her face. An animalistic growl escaped from her as she saw the way out closing. The doll ran towards the closing exit, but she was too slow. With a high pitched scream she banged her fists against the floor. Lorraine and Slappy listened as the doll began to yell.

"Open the door! Let me out!"

Slappy flinched at the sound of the yelling doll. Was she talking about him? Lorraine wiped a bit of sweat off her forehead.

"Was not expecting that." She said in a breathy exhale.

Lorraine looked down at Slappy; noticing how still he was. She bent down to his level; gently shaking him.

"You okay, little guy?" She asked in concern.

Slappy slowly turned his head to face Lorraine. The puppet started shaking violently, to the point where he looked as if he was going to collapse.

"Papa's going to kill me." He spoke in a nervous shudder.

"No he won't." Lorraine spoke gently to him, trying to calm him down.

Slappy grabbed Lorraine by the arms and pulled himself towards her.

"We need to fix this!" He spat out in panic. "We need to get rid of that doll before-"

The sound of the front door opening filled the house.

"We're home!"

While Lorraine did her best to stay calm, Slappy was on the brink of fainting or panicking as he heard the voice of his creator.


	10. The Doll.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary Ellen gets loose and escapes with several books.

"Lorraine? Slappy? Are you both here?" Stine called from the front door.

"Glad to see you didn't burn the house down." Hannah could be heard as well.

Slappy put his hands in front of his mouth as he started pacing around the top floor; trying not to scream.

"What're we going to do!?" He whispered to Lorraine.

"Just tell him it was an accident." Lorraine said to the nervous puppet.

As Lorraine looked down the stairs, Slappy straightened himself out; trying to calm down. After doing so, he looked down the stairs to see Stine and Hannah at the bottom. Zach and Champ then came through the door; making the puppet raise an eyebrow.

"Do they come around here all the time?" Slappy asked, unintentionally sounding rude.

"We have Study group here on Monday." Zach answered back.

"And Wednesday and Friday." Champ added.

Just then, a faint sound came from above. Hannah looked up as she heard the noise.

"Dad, listen."

She pointed upstairs as Stine and the boys listened to the sound. It sounded similar to metal hitting something. Stine raised an eyebrow in confusion at the noise.

"What is that?" Champ questioned as the sound continued.

Lorraine looked at Slappy as he cleared his throat. The puppet played with his bow tie as he looked down at Stine and the teens.

"Umm, Papa?"

Stine and the kids looked up to the puppet as he spoke. The sound from upstairs stopped and fell silent. Slappy almost looked like he was going to scream. He continued speaking, in a rather nervous tone.

"T-there's something you should probably know-"

The entrance to the attic busted open; making Slappy flinch and run to Lorraine. A grizzly hand with sharp claws and covered in blue-purple fur punched through the attic floor and tore apart that area of the ceiling. Stine and the kids rushed upstairs as the creature climbed out of the attic. Lorraine held Slappy in her arms and took a step back from the creature. The creature had a large build and had animalistic features like a mix between a bear, a rabid koala and a wolverine. Everyone kept their distance from the beast. Stine recognised the creature.

"Beast from the east." He muttered.

Champ covered his face, mumbling for none of this to be real while Zach and Hannah kept their distance. Before anyone could act, Mary Ellen jumped out of the attic. Stine stared in horror as the doll looked up at the group; holding a hammer in her right hand and holding a few books in her left arm. Chills went up everyone's spines as she gave everyone a sinister smile.

"Hello, Robert." Mary Ellen greeted casually to Stine. Too casual for Stines’ liking. "You really should keep your books in a safer place. Anyone can get their hands on them if you leave them lying around."

Stine did not respond to the doll's words; knowing the situation was all too familiar.

"How did you get out?" The writer questioned.

Mary Ellen let out a slight giggle.

"Ask Slappy." She said with a smirk.

Everyone but Lorraine looked at Slappy with grim looks.

"What!? It was an accident!" The puppet snapped at them.

"We'll talk about this later." Stine snapped back.

The writer quickly turned back to Mary Ellen.

"Now Mary, please be reasonable. You have no idea how much trouble is in those books."

The doll gave the writer a menacing grin.

"Oh believe me; I know." Mary Ellen replied, holding up the hammer. "And I want it."

The doll turned to the growling beast of the east. She walked over to the creature; stroking its raggedy fur.

"I'm bored of being stuck in a book. Doing the same sorry over and over again; never getting the ending that I want. With my darling Slappy."

Slappy cringed at the way this doll was talking about him; like he was some object. Mary Ellen climbed onto the beast with her hammer and her books.

"I won't be able to get you now."

Mary Ellen gave the group a grin of grim intention.

"But I will soon. Very soon."

The beast growled and jumped down to the ground floor of the house with Mary Ellen guiding it. The beast dashed out the front door; rushing across the street on all fours and disappearing into the woods.

When the two newly released monsters were gone, everyone had their eyes on Slappy. And not for a good reason. Stine looked at Lorraine.

"Put him down, Lorraine." Stine requested.

Lorraine gently put Slappy back on the floor. Slappy stood up straight, looking at everyone. The puppet took a step from the group towering over him with his hands behind his back.

"Like I Said, it was an accident." He said, playing with coat sleeves.

"How do we know you're not lying?!" Zach integrated, about to pounce at Slappy.

Champ and Hannah pulled Zach back as Lorraine stepped between him and Slappy.

"He's not lying, Zach! It really was an accident. I saw it with my own eyes." Lorraine explained at Slappys’ defence.

The puppet looked up at the woman in bewilderment; having trouble believing that she was standing up for him. Stine stepped in front of the teens and looked at them.

"Let him explain what happened." The writer insisted.

With that said everyone looked down at the puppet; waiting for him to explain himself. Slappy stepped away from Lorraine and played with the buttons on his coat.

"Well..." He began. "Me and Lorraine finished Ghostbusters, so I wanted to explore the house. I never went into the attic, so that's what we did. When we were in there we started looking through boxes. Then Lorraine found a box with books in it."

Slappy looked down at the floor.

"I thought... I thought the book she picked up was 'the book' and I panicked. I wanted to look at the label to make sure, so I wiped off some of the dust to read it. Then the next thing I knew, some weird doll starts hugging me and calling me her darling."

The kids looked at each other with uncertainty.

"He's telling the truth. I saw everything." Lorraine backed Slappy up.

Stine had his hand up to his chin as he shook his head. Not in disbelief, but out of fear.

"I was afraid that this would happen." Stine said as he started pacing. "I didn't think it would but it did."

"Weren't all of your books on the shelf in your office?" Champ questioned.

Stine stopped pacing and faced the group.

"Not all of them." The writer began to explain. "The ones in the attic are what I consider more dangerous. That and there wasn't enough room on the shelf."

"But Papa." Slappy interrupted. "I thought you only wrote three books about me."

"Actually there're eleven books about you." Champ corrected.

Slappy looked up at the awkward teen with his right brow raised.

"Eleven? Seriously?" The puppet asked, rather surprised by the number.

"There's no time for that now. We have to get Mary Ellen back into her book before she causes a disaster." Stine insisted, making his way into the attic.

Lorraine, Slappy and the kids quickly followed the writer. Stine looked into the ruined attic; now a complete mess from Mary Ellen and the beast escaping. The writer spotted the remaining books on the floor. But he was anything but relived when he took a closer look. Everyone looked down and the two manuscripts and their broken-behind-repair locks.

"They're not burned." Zach commented.

"But the locks are shattered." Hannah added.

"They're useless." Stine got back up from his knees. "Without the locks, the monsters will just burst out if they try hard enough."

"So, what can we do?" Lorraine asked, even if she knew the answer.

"If I'm right, Mary Ellen used that hammer to break open the Beast of the east manuscript. She'll probably do that to all the books she took as well."

"So, you'll have to write a new manuscript?" Slappy asked, stating the obvious.

Stine gave the puppet a nod in response. Slappy put his hands on his hips.

"History repeats itself." He muttered. "Papa, do you by any chance have another copy of the book that doll came out of?"

"I think so." Stine answered back. "Why?"

"I want to read it so I can know what we're dealing with."

"She's pretty creepy, honestly." Champ added to the conversation.

Slappy looked up at the boy and let out a light cackle.

"No one is Creepier then Slappy." The puppet boasted.

Stine went down the stairs as everyone followed him.

"I might have a copy in the living room. You can read it in the car so we can get the typewriter."

* * *

On the other side of town, the Beast dashed passed a sign that read 'Scrappy and sons metal yard". Mary Ellen pulled on the creature's fur; making him turn right into the scrapyard. After landing on top of an old and rusty station wagon, Mary Ellen climbed off her ride and looked around the yard full of broken cars and metal.

"It's not a palace, but it'll have to do." The doll commented.

Mary Ellen placed the books she took on the ground. She lined them up in a straight row; six books in total. The doll played with the hammer in her hand as she stood over them, a wicked smile creeping onto her face.

"After I get rid of you, Stine; no one will get in my way." She mused to herself. "I'll be queen of the world. And I'll have Slappy all to myself."

With a giggle that turned into a wicked cackle, Mary Ellen lifted her hammer above her head and demolished the locks, one by one.


	11. History Repeats itself

Everyone rushed out of the house as Stine held the door open.

"We better hurry. The sooner we get the typewriter, the sooner we can end this." The writer reminded.

Lorraine got into the front passenger seat with Slappy climbing onto her lap with a copy of Bride of the living dummy in his grip. Hannah and Champ rushed into the backseats. Zach was about to climb in.

"Zach?"

Zach heard the voice of his mother. Everyone turned to see her at the front of the Cooper house. Lorraine and Slappy quickly ducked out of Mrs Cooper's sight. Lorraine did not tell her sister what she was doing at Stine's house and she did not know about Slappy either.

"Oh, mom." Zach got out of the car.

"Where are you guys going?" Mrs Cooper asked out of curiosity as she came over. "Don't you have study group here?"

Zach tried to think of an explanation. His mother knew about the monster invasion, but he did not want her to panic about the idea of another one.

"We do." Zach started. "It's just that-"

"We left our books at school!" Hannah came up with a lie, poking her head out the car window.

Zach and his mother turned to look at the car. Zach wondered what Hannah was doing.

"Yeah, we're going back to get them!" Champ added, smiling to avoid any suspicion.

Mrs Cooper raised an eyebrow with her hands on her hips.

"Can't you just get them tomorrow?" She questioned, wondering why they would be going back to school an hour after it ended.

"I insisted on it Mrs Cooper." Stine came over to the scene. "And the school should be open until eight tonight because of music class rehearsal."

The kids watched as Mrs Cooper took Stine's explanation into account. The woman just shrugged.

"Okay then. Try not to stay out for too long, Zach; we're having pizza for dinner." Mrs Cooper explained before walking back to her house.

"Bye, Mrs Cooper." Hannah and Champ called from the backseat.

Zach turned neck to get in the car with his fake smile fading into a look of guilt. Stine got in the driver's seat and started the car. After pulling out of the driveway, Lorraine got back up in her seat with Slappy back in her lap. Lorraine turned to Stine.

"I hope she didn't see me." She spoke in a relived tone.

"How come?" Hannah asked from the back.

"I didn't tell her that I was going to your house today."

"That and she doesn't know about me." Slappy added as he started reading the book in his hands.

"It's better if she doesn't." Zach responded with unintentional rudeness.

Slappy ignored the boy and flipped through the books pages; looking for the ones with him and Mary Ellen.

"The typewriter's still in the display case right?" Champ asked from his seat.

"Hopefully." Stine answered with his eyes on the road. "If luck stays on our side, we'll be one step ahead of Mary Ellen."

"We'll be one step ahead of Mary Ellen."

Mary Ellen watched the moving car through a crystal ball; held in front of her by an old witch. The doll let out a light grumble as she stepped back.

* * *

"We'll see about that, ya big nerd." She growled into the crystal like Stine could hear her.

Mary Ellen turned to look at her monster gang; consisting of six frighting creatures at the moment.

A knight in coal black armour holding a sharp sword on a dark horse; both of them with red glowing eyes. A six and a half foot tall gorilla with the wings of a vampire bat. A group of growling ghost dogs. A supervillain in dark purple body armour and a mask covering his face. And an old witch dressed completely in black. And the Beast from the East.

Mary Ellen eyed each one of her monsters, examining their appearances and thinking of what they could do to please her.

"You." She pointed to the knight.

The armoured monster looked down at the doll; awaiting command.

"Go find them and stop them from getting to the school." Mary Ellen instructed. "But bring Slappy back here."

The knight nodded in response. His horse dashed out of the scrapyard as he pointed his blade forward. The doll smiled as she put her hands together.

"Anything for us?" The masked villain asked, sounding like he did not really care.

"We'll see." Mary Ellen answered back.

The doll looked towards a book that was still on the ground. She opened six already and there was only one left. Mary Ellen picked up her hammer and looked down at the book; reading the title on the worn out label.

"Slappy's nightmare."

Mary Ellen smiled as she played with her hammer.

"Let's see what really scares you, my darling Slappy."

With a grant, Mary Ellen pounded her hammer against the lock of the final manuscript. The other monsters stepped back as the doll shattered the lock. When she finished, Mary Ellen took a step back. The book busted opened and its pages quickly turned. A cold wind blew as light and ink emerged and took a form. Like Slappy and Mary Ellen, the figure that took form was small. But it was a quarter of an inch taller than Slappy and a lot taller than Mary Ellen. When the ink was gone and the light faded, the figure could be seen clearly.

This monster was another dummy. Unlike Slappy, this one was wearing plain clothes like a red flannel shirt, blue denim jeans and white sneakers. His face had light freckles painted on it and his nose was a little big. He had realistic hair on top of his wooden head, coloured in reddish-brown. The dummy opened his bright green eyes; quickly looking around his new surroundings.

"Where the heck am I!?" He questioned rather loudly.

The other monsters kept their distance from the rowdy dummy. Mary Ellen sat on the hood of a broken down station wagon with her legs crossed.

"Cool your jets, carrot top. You're in a junkyard." The doll explained, not sounding like she really cared.

The red headed dummy gave the doll a questionable look.

"And you are?"

"Name's Mary Ellen." She introduced herself, looking at her fingernails. "I let you out of your stinkin' book. You're welcome."

The red headed dummy raised an eyebrow as he looked towards the other monsters. He looked back at Mary Ellen; eyebrow still raised.

"Did you free those guys too?" He questioned.

"Yeah, I did." The doll answered back. "And before you ask me anymore questions, I have one for you."

Mary Ellen changed her seating position on the hood; hanging her head upside down on the edge.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" She questioned, smiling in an upside down grin.

The red headed dummy loosened up a little; not completely relaxed but trusting.

"Wally." The dummy answered unemotionally. "Wally Wood."

"Well, Wally." Mary Ellen sat back up. "I have an offer you won't refuse. Are you familiar with a shmuck called R.L Stine?"

Wally remembered who Stine was. But the memory of him was a bit faded.

"Vaguely." Wally replied.

"Well, me and my associates are getting revenge." Mary Ellen further explained. "We're gonna get back at him for sealing us away. We'll get rid of that dumb writer and I'll have my darling, Slappy."

Wally's eyebrows narrowed down at the mention of Slappy.

"Did you just say, Slappy?" The dummy questioned, his voice rising in anger.

Mary Ellen looked to the right of her; taking back by Wally's sudden mood swing.

"Yes?" She answered back.

With that, Wally charged at a rusty car and kicked it. He grunted as he did so. The other monsters took a step back at the dummy's bipolar behaviour. Wally looked back up at Mary Ellen.

"That little runt! He stabbed me in the back!" He shouted with his fist tightened. "If I ever get my hands on him, I'll-"

"Now, now; there's no need for that." Mary Ellen rushed over to Wally; shushing him. "I sent someone to take care of everything."

The doll lead Wally over to the witch with the crystal ball.

"Vanessa, show our friend what's going on." Mary Ellen asked of the witch.

The witch lowered the cloudy crystal ball as it began to clear up; showing Stine and the group in his station wagon.

* * *

Slappy flicked through the last two pages of the book he was reading. After finishing, he closed it and looked up at his creator.

"I'm finished, Papa." He announced.

Lorraine looked down at Slappy while the kids listened in. Stine looked over to the puppet for a second before turning back to the road.

"So what do you think?" The writer asked, wondering what Slappy had to say about their foe.

Slappy put the book up to his chin in thought.

"Well, first of all..."

Without warning, the puppet hit Stine in his side with the book. Stine flinched at the hit, but he kept control of the car. Lorraine and the teens looked at the scene with wide eyes.

"Why'd you make me interested in girls!?" Slappy narrowed his eyebrows at his creator. "That's just wrong on so many levels!"

"Well, at least it made people scared of you." Stine argued.

Slappy ignored Stine's last word. While the puppet was a bit disturbed by the premise of the book in general, he hid it well.

"As for this Mary Ellen character, I'd say she makes me look decent." The puppet expressed his opinion.

"She might be a lot more dangerous." Hannah added.

"She is." Stine answered to his daughter. "She’s like Slappy, but she's a lot more aggressive and deranged."

Slappy looked at Stine with a raised eyebrow; not sure whether to be flattered or insulted by the writers comparison.

"Why did you create her anyway?" Lorraine asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah, one evil toy should've been enough." Zach added, getting an icy glare from Slappy.

Everyone but Champ(he was looking out the back window) watched Stine as he tried to explain.

"Well..." The writer began. "I didn't mean to create another monster. I was actually trying-"

"Oh my God!"

Stine was cut short by Champ. Zach and Hannah looked at him as he stared out the back window. Champ looked back at everyone with a look of fear in his eyes.

"There's a big armoured guy following us on a horse!" The awkward teen panicked.

Zach and Hannah looked at each other in confusion before looking out the window. A knight in black armour with a long sword chased after the car on a black horse with glowing red eyes. Lorraine and Slappy looked out their window to see the creature. They quickly turned to Stine.

"Go faster!" They both shouted in unison.

Stine could see the speeding knight in the drivers' mirror. He did as he was told, but the knight was gaining on the car. The knight raised his sword as he charged. The teens watched in terror as he got closer and closer. Zach and Hannah tried to stay calm, but Champ was having a massive panic attack. The knight got up on his horse and stood up when he was inches behind the car. Zach and Hannah watched as the armoured monster jumped off his horse. Slappy and Champ blinked when they saw the horse without a rider.

"Where'd he go?" The puppet questioned.

"He's on the roof!" Champ continued panicking as he heard heavy footsteps from above.

Without warning, a blade plunged through the roof of the car. Everyone watched in fear while Stine only glanced nervously and tried to shake the monster off. The blade sliced through the middle and pulled back. Then metal fingers slipped through and pulled the roof apart; revealing the monster.

Lorraine and the kids stared with horror at the Knight's glowing red eyes showing through his helmet. Stine tried to shake the monster off, but he kept his grip. The knight looked towards the front passenger seat; eyeing Lorraine and Slappy.

"The queen must have her King." The knight spoke in a deep metallic voice.

The armoured monster quickly reached in and grabbed Slappy by the collar.

"Let me go!" The puppet screamed as the knight pulled him up.

Lorraine quickly grabbed onto Slappy and pulled him back; starting a game of tug-of-war with the knight. Zach, Hannah and Champ grabbed onto Slappy as well while Stine tried to shake him off of the roof. Slappy struggled against the grip of the knight; getting irritated at the feeling of being pulled like a rope.

"I SAID LET ME GO!"

Slappy threw his arm up and smacked the knight across his masked face, turning his helmet backwards. The knight let go of Slappy and held his head; stunned by the sudden blindness. Stine rapidly turned the steering wheel to the right; making the car skid and making the blind knight loss balance. He fell backwards off of the roof and fell to the black pavement of the road. Zach, Hannah and Champ watched the fallen knight from the back window; watching as he shrunk in size because of distance.

"Is he following us?" Stine asked, getting his driving under control.

"No, He's not getting back up." Hannah answered.

"What was that!?" Zach questioned.

"I think that was the Knight in Screaming Armour." Champ answered, shaken by the experience.

Slappy growled at the mention of the fiend that tried to abduct him. He felt his collar, adjusting it.

"That armoured clod almost ruined my suit!" The puppet complained.

"If Mary Ellen released the knight, who knows what else she has at her disposal." Stine feared of what Mary Ellen could do.

"But why did he try and grab Slappy?" Lorraine questioned towards the actions of the knight.

"That crazy doll might have told him to do it." Slappy theorised. "Being King would be great, but not if she's the queen."

Stine sighed briefly.

"Like I said, she’s dangerous and deranged." The writer explained. "As long as she doesn't know where we're going, or what we're doing, it should be fine."


	12. Get to Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group makes it to the school to get the typewriter, but Mary Ellen and her monsters quickly catch up.

Mary Ellen kicked the dirt beneath her and muttered curses under her breath. While the other monsters kept their distance, Wally just stood there with his arms crossed.

"I thought you said he would take care of it." The dummy reminded, referring to the knight's failure.

Mary Ellen ended her tantrum and relaxed herself. The doll fixed her hair as she turned to face Wally.

"Well, there's been a change of plan." She muttered with annoyance in her voice.

The doll turned to face her gang of monsters.

"Alright, my friends!" Mary Ellen announced. "There's a new plan! We're going after Stine and his gang of losers ourselves! We are going to the high school!"

The monsters roared, growled, howled and cheered in agreement; ready to cause havoc and mayhem. Mary Ellen ordered the monsters to the gate leading out of the junkyard. She climbed onto the beast as Wally walked past; getting in front of the other monsters and leading them to the school. The doll grinned to herself as her gang of monsters followed her. Wally and Mary Ellen were both grinning evilly.

"I'm coming for you, Slappy." Mary Ellen and Wally thought in unison.

* * *

Stine parked the car in the school parking lot. There were no other cars; meaning that there might not be any people at the school. Zach and Champ noticed this, but they did not say anything. Everyone quickly got out of the car. Stine looked at the damage caused by the knight; turning red upon seeing the torn roof.

"I can't own a car without something happening to it!" The writer complained.

"Least it didn't get completely destroyed." Champ stayed on the bright side.

"Or eaten by a giant praying mantis." Hannah added.

Slappy held in a light cackle as Stine rubbed his forehead. The writer took a short exhale before straightening himself out.

"Right, we have a lot to do." Stine lead everyone through the doors.

Everyone quickly went through the doors to the hallway of the school. Champ looked around with a nervous look on his face. Hannah noticed.

"What's the matter?" She asked of the awkward teen.

"Something just doesn't feel right. I feel like we're the only ones here."

"So you just have to write another book, right?" Lorraine remembered the plan.

"That's the plan." The writer agreed.

"But we don't know what monsters Mary Ellen released." Zach reminded.

"We already know that she released the beast from the east." Hannah argued.

"And the knight in Screaming armour." Champ added.

"I think I can vaguely remember which books I had in that box." Stine adjusted his glasses as he walked. "I just need to jog my memory."

While the humans and the ghost were discussing the situation, Slappy was thinking to himself. He thought about what Stine was going to say before the knight attacked the car. The writer said that he did not mean to create another monster. What did he mean by that? Slappy needed to know. The puppet sped up towards his creator and grabbed the end of his shirt. Stine stopped in his tracks and looked down at Slappy as everyone else did.

"Slappy, what are you doing?" The writer questioned his creations' actions.

"What did you mean when you said you weren't trying to make another monster?" Slappy questioned rather forcefully.

"Slappy, we're on time limit." Hannah reminded. "We don't have-"

"I want an answer." The puppet raised his voice.

Stine observed the serious look in Slappy's eyes. He was not going to take no for an answer. Stine got Slappy to let go of his shirt as he looked at the others.

"We'll catch up." The writer said to them.

Lorraine and the kids knew what Stine was implying. They went ahead without him; leaving him alone with Slappy. Stine took a seat on the ground against the lockers. He patted the spot next to him; telling Slappy to take a seat.

"I was hoping you would forget about that after what happened in the car. But I should know better by now." The writer began.

Slappy sat next to Stine as he continued to explain.

"It happened sometime after I put you back in your book. While I knew how dangerous and unpredictable you were, I missed having you around."

"Nice to know." Slappy sarcastically remarked.

Stine nodded in agreement. He continued.

"After the Madison invasion incident, I rewrote Hannah into the world."

Slappy just rolled his eyes at that point.

"A few years ago, I tried to do the same with you."

Slappy's eyebrows went up.

"Wait, what?" The puppet looked up at his creator.

"I tried at least two times. I wrote bride of the living Dummy as a first attempt to bring you back. But, it went wrong. I thought you were going to come out of the book, but something else came out instead."

Slappy gave Stine a weird look.

"The doll?" The puppet questioned.

"Yes. The doll." Stine answered back. "I tried to roll with the situation, but Mary Ellen started becoming aggressive. Like how you did, but worse. After she threatened to release you, I had to put her away-"

"Wait just a second!" Slappy interrupted the writer. "She was going to let me out, and you stopped her!?"

Stine raised an eyebrow at the puppet.

"She said she was going to smother you with kisses." Stine said in a deadpan voice.

Slappy fell silent as his eyebrows went up. If he had more facial expression, he would have looked more horrified at the thought of someone he did not even know kissing him after getting out of his book.

"I think you might have done me a favour, papa." Slappy said in a shaky voice.

"Possibly." Stine added.

"But what about the second time?"

Stine straightened himself before he answered.

"It was the same result." The writer recalled. "But you've already met him."

Slappy raised a brow at Stine before he realised what the writer meant.

"Oh. Him." Slappy muttered.

Stine just nodded as silence took place. Slappy played with the laces on his shoes.

"So, you were basically trying to reset me." Slappy assumed.

Stine quickly sat up; taken back by Slappy's assumption.

"What!? No, I wasn't trying to reset you!" Stine tried to answer without making Slappy angry. "I was just-"

"Spare me your lies, Papa." The puppet stopped Stine from making a fool of himself. "There's no point in getting angry now."

Slappy got up from his seat on the hallway floor.

"Let's just get this over with."

Stine got up as he watched Slappy walking ahead of him. The puppet seemed to take it better then he thought he would. Stine caught up with Slappy as Lorraine and the kids came out of the corner with smiles on their faces.

"We got it." Zach held the writing device up.

"Good." Stine gently took the typewriter from Zach. "Now we just need a place where I can-"

A howling sound erupted from outside. Everyone fell silent as they heard the noise.

"What was that?" Hannah questioned as the noise stopped.

Stine quickly hurried to the library as the others followed him. Lorraine picked Slappy as she followed the rest of the group. The group made their way into the school library. It was empty. No one was there.

"Odd." Stine whispered to himself.

"I knew something wasn't right." Champ spoke in a shaky tone. "Where is everyone? Shouldn't there be a teacher here?"

"Maybe they went home early." Zach suggested.

"But the school isn't locked up." Hannah argued.

"Maybe Couch was the last one here and he forgot." Zach theorised.

Stine made his way to a window to see the source of the howling. The writer went wide eyed at the sight outside.

"Oh dear." The writer muttered.

Dark grey clouds started to gather outside the window as Mary Ellen and her gang of monsters appeared in view from the football field. Stine stared at each monster she released. The barking ghosts, the knight in screaming armour, the beast from the east, the Vampirilla, Vanessa the witch, the masked mutant. And Wally Wood. Stine shook his head in disbelief; wishing that what he was seeing was a nightmare.

"What have you done, Mary?" The writer whispered in horror.

Lorraine and the kids looked into the window to see what they were up against. Hannah and Zach stayed calmed while Champ was on the brink of hyperventilation.

"Oh my god; the barking ghosts!" the teen squealed; terrified and excited all at once.

"How did she find us!?" Hannah questioned.

Slappy crawled under one of the desks in the library; hoping Mary Ellen would not see him.

"It's just not my day." He mumbled in slight annoyance.

Outside on the football field, Mary Ellen had an evil grin on her face as the monsters came to a halt. The doll turned to face the witch and snapped her fingers. The witch held up her crystal ball as it began to glow bright red. A red beam shoot through the window of the library. Stine and the group quickly ducked out of the way of the red beam. Slappy watched from his spot under the desk as the Beam took the shape of Mary Ellen; like a holographic projection. The projection of Mary Ellen played with her a curl in her hair as she smiled devilishly.

"Good evening, idiots." The doll greeted in a chirpy tone.

Lorraine and the kids gave the doll grim looks while Stine looked nervous as he held the typewriter in his grip.

"Surprised to see me?" Mary Ellen continued with that wicked grin on her face.

"I'm more irritated then surprised." The writer bravely replied.

The doll raised an eyebrow at Stine's sudden change of mood.

"So where's my man?" Mary Ellen put her hands to her hips.

"Your man?" Lorraine questioned.

"I think she's talking about Slappy." Champ assumed.

"That's right, chump!" Mary Ellen spat, offending Champ a little. "So where is he?"

"Why do you even wanna know?" Zach questioned, standing his ground.

"He's not exactly boyfriend material." Hannah added.

Slappy gave Hannah an icy stare from his hiding spot; even though she might have been right. Mary Ellen crossed her arms with her smile turning into a frown.

"I can make him change." The doll argued.

Slappy almost cringed at the way Mary Ellen was talking about him.

"Let me tell you why I'm here." The doll continued, her smile coming back. "Like you already noticed, I have a bunch of monsters at my disposal. And they are very dangerous, like me. So here's how it's gonna go. I'm going to have the barking ghosts block off all the exits so no one can get in or out. And one by one, I'll send one of my monsters inside the school to hunt you all down."

Everyone looked eachother in fear; unsure if Mary Ellen was bluffing.

"However!" She continued. "If you give Slappy to me right now, I'll call the whole thing off."

That sentence made Slappy's eyebrows go straight up. And made him bang his head on the bottom of the desk unintentionally.

"OW."

Mary Ellen jerked her head to the direction of the loud grunt. In a flash, the hologram of her disappeared. Everyone looked around in fear when she disappeared.

"W-where'd she go?" Champ questioned as he started shaking.

Slappy stayed under his desk with his knees to his chest; thinking he was safe under there. Before he could sigh in relief, he noticed that something glowing red was behind him. The puppet slowly turned his head around to see a holographic Mary Ellen staring right at him.

"Hey, handsome."

Slappy yelped and quickly dashed out from under the desk. The puppet ran to Stine and grabbed his legs; wanting protection from the doll. Even though she was just a projection.

"Stay away from me, you plastic parasite!" Slappy shouted at the top of his lungs.

The holographic projection of Mary Ellen came out from under the desk and gave everyone a grim stare. Stine kneeled down and took Slappy into his arms for protection. The writer returned the grim stare.

"We're not making any deals with you." Stine argued with the sinister doll.

"And if you think we're going to hand Slappy over to you, you're out of your mind!" Hannah added in, surprising both the boys and Slappy.

Mary Ellen's face turned into a dreadful grimace as she let out an animalistic growl.

"Maybe I didn't make myself quite clear." The doll raised her voice. "If you don't hand him over, I'll have my army turn you ALL INSIDE OUT!"

Slappy raised an eyebrow at Mary Ellen before he turned to the window.

"You call that petty get-together of yours an army!?" Slappy mocked. "I had at least twenty five graveyard ghouls, fifty lawn gnomes, a werewolf and a giant praying mantis at my disposal! You just have a group of rejects!"

Mary Ellen raised an eyebrow at Slappy's prideful tone of voice.

"So where are they?" She referred to Slappy's monsters; putting her hands on her hips.

Slappy's eyebrows went back up. He looked up at Stine to see him shaking his head slightly.

"I-I don't know." The puppet lied.

Mary Ellen's grim expression softened as she looked at the nervous looks on Stine and Slappy. Her grim frown turned into a sinister grin.

"You're hiding something from me, Slappy darling." The doll spoke with a sing-song voice.

She leaned in closer as her evil smile grew wider.

"And I want to know what it is."

Mary Ellen let out a giggle as lightening appeared outside. Her laughter turned into a wicked cackle as the lightening filled the library with bright flashes; making everyone cover their eyes. When they reopened them, the projection of Mary Ellen disappeared; but her laugh lingered for a few seconds. Hannah and the boys looked out the window as the barking ghosts and a few monsters started making their way towards the school and its entrenches.

"Oh god! Look at them!" Champ started panicking at the sight. "She's gonna kill us!"

"Not before I finish this book." Stine reminded; setting up his typewriter. "I already know what I have to write, but I'll need time."

Slappy looked out the window as the monsters came closer to the school. He swore that he could see Mary Ellen smiling at him with a wicked grin. Slappy looked at another monster in the group. He peered at the familiar figure; noticing how similar it was to his own.

"If we can get to P.E storage, we can get some equipment to protect ourselves with!" Zach suggested as he closed the blinds to the window.

Slappy turned away from the now closed window and looked up at Zach.

"What makes you think you'll beat them?" The puppet questioned pessimistically.

"There aren't too many monsters this time." Hannah corrected.

"And if we can beat you we can beat Mary Ellen." Zach commented.

Slappy gave Zach an icy glare for his comment. Stine reached into his pocket and pulled out a key.

"You'd best take this with you. All the teachers have keys to all classrooms for security reasons." Stine explained, giving Hannah the key.

"Got it; we'll be back before you know it." Hannah reassured.

"But be careful!"

Just as Hannah and Zach were about to exit the library, Slappy quickly ran up to her and grabbed her pant leg. Hannah looked down at Slappy with a raised brow.

"I want to come with you." The puppet demanded.

Stine came up to the puppet, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Slappy, Mary Ellen might go after you if you go outside."

Slappy removed Stine's hand off of his shoulder and looked up at his creator.

"If I stay here, she'll find me with you and figure out what you're doing." The puppet reminded Stine of the danger. "And if she breaks your fingers, or the typewriter, what will we do then?"

Stine blinked at the puppet as he realised all possible outcomes.

"He actually has a point." Champ agreed, surprisingly.

"But, Slappy; you shouldn't put yourself at risk. None of you should." Lorraine showed concern for the kids and Slappy.

"We don't really have a choice, Aunt Lorraine." Zach disagreed.

"Mary Ellen can't pick us off if we stay in groups." Hannah added. "Besides. Slappy can help us carry weapons back here. Champ, stay here with Lorraine and dad."

Before anyone could say anything else, Hannah, Zach and Slappy were already out of the library. Lorraine and Champ looked at eachother nervously; both worried about the situation.

"They know what they're doing." Stine reassured the pair. "I have faith in them. All three of them."

While the writer had his worries as well, he tried his best not to show it. Without wasting another second, Stine began writing with what he already had in mind and what had already happened.


	13. Don't Get Lost

Mary Ellen snapped her fingers as she ordered the barking ghosts to block all the entry ways and exits to the school. Wally watched impatiently with his arms crossed.

"Those chumps think they can keep secrets from moi, can they?" The doll thought with malicious intent. "We'll see about that."

Mary Ellen turned her head to the left; spotting an air duct leading into the school. The doll smiled as a plan hatched in her mind. She turned towards Wally as he gave her an impatient look.

"Why don't we just break through the window? We can get it done quickly that way!" Wally questioned in an aggravated tone.

"No, not like that, sweetheart." Mary Ellen disagreed. "Things like this need to be done delicately."

Mary Ellen snapped her fingers as she ordered the vampirilla to remove the air duct cover. With an animalistic grunt, the Vampirilla pulled the cover off with its giant paws; throwing it away and leaving an opening big enough for a child sized creature. Mary Ellen turned back to Wally with a smirk on her face.

"Besides. I have a job for you."

Wally raised an eyebrow in interest. Mary Ellen inched for him to come closer and started whispering into his ear. Wally's expression varied as Mary Ellen whispered to him. By the end of it, the dummy had a wicked and deranged look in his glassy eyes.

"Are you sure you want me to do that?" He raised an eyebrow with a playful grin.

"Just give him a little bonk on the head and bring him back here." Mary Ellen explained. "But don't mess up his face! I want him to stay pretty!"

Wally rolled his eyes in annoyance as he made his way into the air vent. Mary Ellen turned to the Vampirilla with her hands on her hips.

"Now, what to do with you." She grinned wickedly.

The doll looked towards the schools front entrance. She ordered the barking ghosts that were blocking it to move aside and turned back to the Vampirilla.

"Now, when you see anyone in there who isn't my darling Slappy, pound them flat!" Mary Ellen instructed, putting her fist into her palm.

The half vampire, half gorilla creature let out a low growl as it made its way past the ghosts and into the school. Mary Ellen watched with a malicious grin, as thunder rumbled from above in the dark sky.

* * *

Hannah and Zach kept their eyes open as they quietly made their way through the halls of the school. Slappy stayed behind Hannah; looking at the lockers on the walls like a curious child. Zach looked back at the distracted puppet; trying to find anything to hint that he might try and betray them when their backs were turned. Zach went a little closer to Hannah and made sure Slappy was not listening to them.

"I don't trust him." The teen whispered to the other.

Hannah turned her head slightly; eyeing Zach and the distrusting look on his face.

"I know that. But Slappy isn't the one attacking us." Hannah explained.

Zach turned back for a second to make sure Slappy was not listening. He quickly turned back to Hannah.

"But he's still dangerous. He tried to kill your dad." He reminded.

"Well, dad's the one who set him free this time. He has his reasons." Hannah explained.

Zach looked back at the puppet, who was still districted by his surroundings. The teen thought of some of the things Stine said when he explained why he let Slappy free. One of them wanting to fix their relationship. Zach knew he had to at least try and understand, even though he thought that Slappy was a psycho. The teen turned back to Hannah.

"They must've had a weird relationship." Zach commented in a whisper.

"Dad told me about it sometimes." Hannah shrugged. "He only made me some time later, so I never met Slappy in person till one other time when he escaped."

Slappy's ears starting burning at the mention of his name. The puppet turned his head slightly to look up at the two teens. Slappy raised a brow as the two whispered to each other; probably about something he had no interest in. Though he was interested in why they were whispering to each other.

"Are you two together?" He questioned out of nowhere.

Hannah and Zach quickly turned to look down at the puppet with confused looks on their faces.

"What?" Both teens questioned.

"I just noticed that you both seem close." Slappy explained. "So, are you two dating like Papa and Lorraine or something?"

Hannah and Zach looked at each other with uncertainty. Hannah did not want to be rude and say nothing, but Zach did not want Slappy to know anything too personal. Hannah was about to say something.

"Well-"

"It's not really any of your business." Zach interrupted.

Zach resumed his way to the PE storage room. Slappy give the boy a cold stare. The puppet raised his fist in protest.

"I could end up being your brother in law some-!"

Hannah quickly kneeled down and put her hand over Slappy's mouth; making him quiet. The puppet raised a brow at her as she took her hand away.

"What?" Slappy reacted calmly.

"If you yell, Mary Ellen's monsters might hear you." Hannah warned.

Slappy just crossed his arms and shrugged.

"I'm not afraid of her." The puppet lied out of pride.

Hannah raised a brow at Slappy like he did to her.

"You're not?" She asked.

"Nope." Slappy continued to lie.

Even though his face was stuck in a grin, Hannah knew that Slappy was lying and he did not want her to know that he was afraid. She sighed a little as she stood back.

"It's ok." Hannah held out her hand.

Slappy looked back and forth at Hannah and her hand; unsure of what to make of the act.

"Just stick with me and you'll be fine." Hannah reassured.

Slappy gave Hannah a confused blink. But he gave the girl his hand despite his confusion. Hannah smiled at him before catching up to Zach with Slappy following closely behind. Zach stood in front of the door into the gym and looked in the window.

"Looks pretty dark in there." Zach commented.

Zach placed one hand on the door handle; pushing it forward and opening it. The teen stepped forward and looked around while Hannah turned on the lights; making it easier to see. Slappy stood behind the girl as he eyed the room where sports classes took place.

"So where're the weapons?" The puppet questioned, sounding a little disappointed at the lack of anything in the room.

Zach spotted another door across the gym.

"Should be through that door." He commented.

The teen quickly went over to it as Hannah followed him. Slappy was about to follow, but he felt a chill go up his back. The puppet looked back the way he, Hannah and Zach came. Slappy blinked in confusion as he noticed a shadowy figure down the hall. The puppet watched vacantly as a pair of neon green eyes came into view. Slappy looked back into the gym to see Zach and Hannah opening the storage door; too busy to pay any attention to him. The puppet looked back to the hall to see the figure walking away. As if he wasn't in control of himself, Slappy followed the figure; unaware of the danger in his near future.

Hannah gave Zach the key that Stine gave to her; using it to unlock the storage room. The teen boy pulled the door open to a room full of different sports equipment. Soccer balls, basketballs, tennis rackets, baseball bats and hockey sticks. Zach picked up a hockey stick and a baseball bat; remembering how he had to fight the bees during the Madison monster invasion.

"We should grab as much we can carry and get back to the library." He suggested; picking up some more bats.

"Right." Hannah agreed. "Slappy, we need you to-"

Hannah turned around to look at Slappy. But he was not there. The ghost girl looked around the gym; her fear growing as she couldn't find him.

"Slappy!?" She shouted out loud.

Zach took notice as he held a bat and a hockey stick in his hands. He quickly ran over to Hannah as she went back into the hallway.

"Where is he?" The teen questioned worryingly.

"I don't know! He was right behind me!" Hannah almost sounded like she was panicking.

Zach was worried but he was also a bit annoyed at the fact that the little wooden gremlin could not stay in one place.

"We gotta look for him. He couldn't have gotten-"

The lights around Zach and Hannah flickered until they turned off entirely. Zach quickly gave Hannah a hockey stick as they went back to back for defence. Hannah held her weapon close as she felt a faint rumble underneath her feet.

"Do you feel that?" She asked Zach; unsure if you was imagining it.

"The ground shaking? Yes." Zach answered; holding his bat tightly. "And I think it's getting closer.

Zach was right. The two teens braced themselves as the ground shook; like something huge and beastly was coming their way.

* * *

Slappy held his arms together as he walked down the dark halls. He thought he was following the glowing green eyes in the distance, but he felt lost. The puppet continued following them, like he had no choice. The eyes disappeared to the right. Slappy picked up his pace and chased the glowing green into a new room.

Slappy observed the new room. It had Windows. But the dark clouds just made it hard to see anything. Slappy looked in every direction of the room, but the glowing eyes disappeared. Footsteps came into hearing from behind; making the puppet quickly turn around.

"H-hello?" Slappy shuddered.

Slappy turned back as the blinds on the Windows went down. But he felt an unwanted chill through his body as he heard the sound of the door shutting and a deep chuckle.

"Hello, brother..."


	14. The Other Dummy

Back in the library, Stine held a flash light in his hand after the light went out. The writer looked to sides to make sure Lorraine and Champ were still there.

"What happened to the lights?" Lorraine questioned; sounding frighted.

"Mary Ellen must've cut the power." Stine theorised; almost impressed by the dolls strategies.

The writer looked around the library with his flashlight, looking for Champ. He pointed it to a new light source in the corner. Champ had his phone out, using it to see in the dark library.

"Champ, come here for a moment."

Champ quickly gave Stine his attention and came over.

"Yes, Mr Stine?" The awkward teen stood ready to take an order.

"I need you to stand guard at the door and shout out if something is coming."

Champ glanced at the door with a nervous face. Stine knew what he was thinking.

"I'm not asking you to go outside; just watch through the window." Stine reassured.

"Oh, Ok; that's good. I would've gone outside if you said so; but staying inside is too." Champ blurted out; obviously lying.

The writer just rolled his eyes at the boys attempt at an excuse. While Champ kept watch from the window, Stine looked towards Lorraine.

"Lorraine, could you come here, please?" He requested politely. "I just need you to hold the light over the typewriter so I can see what I'm writing."

"Of course, sweetheart." Lorraine answered back; sounding a little timid.

Lorraine quickly took the flashlight from Stine and held it over his work in progress. She watched with growing interest as the writer added two more words to the paper, and moved onto the next page. Lorraine listened to the sounds of the typing keys as she wandered how the device could create something into reality. She wanted to know, but she did not want to distract Stine. But there was something more important on her mind as she looked towards Champ guarding the door.

"Do you think they're okay?" Lorraine questioned out of concern.

"The kids?" Stine clarified, still typing.

"Yes; and Slappy. Aren't you worried?"

"I am worried." Stine admitted. "But Zach and Hannah are a tough pair together. And Slappy is anything but a dummy. He's smart enough to stay out of trouble."

* * *

"Hello, brother..."

Slappy quickly turned around when he heard the chilling greeting. Ten Bunsen burners placed on the lab desks of the room lit up one by one; adding light into the room and revealing the owner of the voice. Slappy froze in place as he saw him. Wally gave Slappy a grim smirk as his eyes started glowing again.

"Been a long time, hasn't it?" The redheaded dummy questioned as he slowly came closer.

Slappy snapped out of his frozen state and backed away.

"What's the matter? Don't you recognise your big brother?" Wally raised an eyebrow. "Or have you gotten stupider in the last five years?"

Slappy backed into a wall; allowing Wally to tower over him. Slappy was only 3 feet and 3 inches tall, but Wally was at least two inches taller than his brother. Slappy looked up at Wally and gave him a resentful glare before turning away.

"It's actually been six years, Wally." Slappy stated.

"Like I really care." Wally replied unemotionally.

The taller puppet put his hand on top of Slappy's head; turning it to face him against his will. Wally grinned at the feeling of his brother struggling.

"You know why I'm here?" Wally questioned, still grinning.

"Because Mary ugly face let you out?" Slappy guessed sarcastically.

"Yes. But I have a bone to pick with you. Or in your case, a splinter."

Wally let out a light cackle at his joke while Slappy just rolled his eyes the other way. The shorter puppet pushed Wally's hand off his head; regaining movement in his neck.

"I see you still don't know the term, personal space." Slappy remarked in a rude tone.

"What? Did all that time in a book turn you into a claustrophobe?" Wally taunted in the same tone. "Well, being knocked out by one isn't much fun either!"

Slappy's eyebrows went straight up. He started remembering things about him and Wally. Now he knew how much danger he was in.

"Now, Wally; let's not do anything we'll regret." Slappy quickly stepped to the right.

"Oh, believe me; I won't regret a second of it." Wally put his hand into his pocket.

Slappy watched with worry as Wally dug through the pockets of pants. Slappy thought that he would bring out something painful like a knife, or knuckle-duster.

"Mary Ellen wouldn't want me hurt!" Slappy warned, putting his fists up. "If you try to cut me, I'll break your fingers!"

Wally deeply chuckled at how pathetic his brother seemed to him.

"If she wanted me to cut you, I would've already done it." The redheaded dummy smirked.

Wally pulled his hand out of his left pocket with its contents. It was a small plastic bottle with orange brown liquid inside, and a red cloth. Slappy backed away as he raised a confused eyebrow.

"She just wants me to send you to dream land." Wally smirked wickedly.

"W-where'd you get that?" Slappy questioned with a shudder.

"Just took a look in the nurse's office. It has the word knock-out on it. Let's see if it works on runts."

Wally removed the lid from the bottle and moved closer to Slappy. Slappy quickly backed away from the taller dummy; afraid of what that stuff might do to him.

"Look Wally, I'm sorry about what happened in Chicago." Slappy tried to apologise his way out. "I just didn't want Papa to lock me up again!"

Wally raised an eyebrow at Slappy.

"Papa? You still call him that?" Wally questioned, knowing who Slappy was talking about. "What makes you think he's your dad?"

Slappy blinked in confusion at the statement.

"Well, he created me. What else would I call him?" The puppet questioned meekly.

Wally put his hand up to his chin in thought; seeming as if he was mocking Slappy.

"Gee, I don't know." Wally spoke sarcastically. "How about liar? Cheater? Backstabbing jackass?"

Slappy backed into a wall again, but Wally stood in place.

"Y'know when I think about, you're not that different." Wally added maliciously. "You kept saying how he lied to you about being special."

Slappy raised a brow as Wally continued.

"I mean, if he really did think of you as special then why were you stuck in a book when I found you?"

Slappy narrowed his brows as Wally started mocking him.

"If Stine really loved you, then why did he throw you away like an old toy?"

Slappy lowered his head as he started shaking.

"I heard everything he said to you in the bookstore. About how the only mistake he made was letting you into the world-"

"SHUT UP!" Slappy roared; holding his fists above his head.

Slappy ran towards Wally; ready to beat him senseless for insulting him. Lighting flashed from outside as he was about to hit the taller puppet. But he just punched a wall of air. Slappy steadied himself as he opened his eyes. His eyebrows went up when he saw that Wally was gone. Slappy's breath stood still as he turned his head to look behind him.

Without warning, Wally tackled Slappy to the floor and placed the cloth against his nose and mouth. Slappy cried out and struggled to get free from Wally's grip, but it was in vain. Wally gave the puppet a sinister stare as Slappy's vision began to fade. The puppet quieted down and slowed down his struggling movements before his eyes shut; as if he had fallen asleep. Wally removed the cloth when Slappy stopped moving; looking over the unconscious puppet.

"Now you know how it feels." The redheaded dummy sneered.

Wally threw the bottle and cloth on the floor before he rolled Slappy onto his side and lifted him over his shoulder.

* * *

Zach and Hannah braced themselves as the ground shook. The boy held his baseball bat up high as he felt a chill go up his spine. The girl braced herself; getting into a defensive stance with her hockey stick. The rumbling became harder and closer by the second. Zach looked towards his direction; seeing something coming through the hall. Hannah turned to look; seeing the huge being speeding up.

"Get out of the way!"

Zach grabbed Hannah's hand and pulled her back into the gym; getting out of the creature's way. A massive form dashed passed the way into the gym, but quickly stopped in a halt. Zach and Hannah stepped back from the door as a large paw came into view. A gorilla monster crawled in through the door and squeezed through. Zach and Hannah kept their distance as the beast spread its bat-like wings and growled animalistically.

"We need a plan." Zach whispered to Hannah.

"I have one, but it's risky." Hannah whispered.

"So what is it?"

"We need to stab him with something like a wooden steak."

Zach looked down at his bat and Hannah's hockey stick; both of them made from wood.

"Like the sports equipment?" He hinted.

Before Hannah could respond to that, the gorilla monster roared and pounded his chest with his fists.

"Too late! Split up!" Hannah shouted rapidly.

The two teens quickly ran across the gym in different directions; knowing the Vampirilla would pick one of them. With the fury of a raging animal, the monster chased after Hannah as she climbed over the seats on the left side of the gym. Hannah looked back as the creature closed in on her. The girl lifted her hockey stick high and slammed it into the monster's face; splitting the weapon into two wooden steaks. The Vampirilla turned back at Hannah as he growled deeply; making her realise she made a mistake. Hannah pointed her broken weapon at the monster as she backed into a wall. The Vampirilla let an earthquake inducing roar as he was about to attack the girl.

"Hey, Count Donkey Kong!"

A tennis ball slammed into the back of the monsters head; making him stop what he was doing. The Vampirilla turned around with rage in his eyes. Zach had a tennis racket in his hand and a ball in the other.

"Pick on someone your own size!" Zach shouted at the beast; throwing another ball.

The Vampirilla blocked the next ball with his arm before growling at the boy. The beast climbed off the seats as Zach continued hitting him with tennis balls; giving Hannah time to put her plan into action. Zach threw another ball at the Vampirilla, but the beast caught it and threw it back; hitting Zach in the forehead.

"Zach!" Hannah called out in worry as Zach fell to the floor.

Hannah quickly got up and ran towards the Vampirilla with her broken hockey stick as he closed in on Zach. The beast was about to crush Zach with his giant paws. Before roaring in pain.

Hannah pushed her broken weapon into the back of the Vampirilla; making the beast fall to the side with a pain induced roar. Hannah ran to Zach as he sat back up. The Vampirilla gave the teens a monstrous stare before rushing out the door with the steak still in his back. When the monster was gone, Zach sat up with his hand holding his forehand.

"Let me see." Hannah requested.

Zach put his hand down so Hannah could take a look at his bruised forehead; making sure there was no major damage.

"You've got a tough skull." She commented.

Zach shrugged in response.

"It didn't hurt that much." He lied with a slight chuckle.

Hannah smiled a little as she helped Zach get up off the floor.

"Sure it didn't... Thanks for distracting furious Gorge." Hannah spoke with gratitude.

"Well, I figured it was part of your plan." Zach commented.

Hannah nodded slightly.

"It was. It was. C'mon, we gotta find Slappy."

Hannah held Zach's hand as they walked out of the gym. Both teens looked down both ends of the hall; finding no sign of Slappy.

"Slappy!" Hannah called out.

"Why'd you run off, little guy?" Zach called out.

Just then, they heard a loud grunt coming from the left side of the hallway. The same way they came. Both teens looked at each other in uncertainty as someone starting speaking.

"You're heavy for a shorty." A male voice said with a grunt.

Quietly and slowly, Zach and Hannah made their way towards the voice. It sounded like he was carrying something.

"I don't really see why she would want to marry someone as stupid as you. You don't even look half as good as I do." The voice spoke again; like he was speaking to someone.

Hannah and Zach peeked around the corner to find the owner of the voice. Both went wide eyed when they saw that it was a ventriloquist dummy like Slappy; facing away from the teens. Hannah realised that he had something over his shoulder. Something that looked like a small person wearing a tux. She gasped when she realised what he was holding.

"Slappy!" She whispered in worry.

Wally almost jumped when he heard the whisper. In a split second, he turned around with narrowed brows.

"Who's there!?" The redheaded dummy shouted; pulling a switchblade out of his right pocket. "Show yourself!"

Without second thoughts, Hannah dashed out of the shadows.

"Hannah, no!" Zach protested.

Hannah stood bravery a few meters of Wally. The redheaded dummy raised a brow at the sight.

"Hey, ghost girl." He greeted in an almost casual tone.

"Let him go, Wally!" Hannah spoke in a threatening tone.

The puppet just chuckled as he lowered his knife.

"Sorry, sweetheart. But I've got stuff to do. And Pinocchio is coming with me weather he likes it or not!" Wally threatened back.

Hannah was about to charge at Wally before a flash of lightning and thunder went off outside; momentarily blinding her and Zach. When they opened their eyes again, Wally was gone. And so was Slappy. Both the teens looked around frantically.

"Why did Stine have to write all his dummy monsters to have teleporting powers!?" Zach questioned, angered by the disappearance of their new enemy.

Hannah had a nervous look on her face. She was actually worried about Slappy, but she remembered how Mary Ellen said she wanted to know what he was hiding. And if she found out about the book...

"We have to tell dad!"


	15. Trouble rising

(Flashback)

**Stine wiped his forehand after finally clearing out the last box. The writer looked around his new study; now decorated with various antiques like his bookshelf and his typewriter sitting on top of his new desk. Stine looked down at a manuscript lying beside the device. The writer tried not to think about the events that took place a few days ago. About the incident in Chicago.**

**"Don't think about it Robert. That's what he wants."**

**Stine picked up the manuscript and glanced down at its title. Night of the Living Dummy. The writer gently shook his head in regret before walking to the bookshelf and placing it with his other manuscripts. He gently slid it in between Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes and Werewolf of Fever Swamp. Stine knew he had to let it go. But it was much harder in practise.**

**Stine felt a chill go up his spine. He felt like he was not alone in the room. Hannah was already asleep in her room. The writer took a short exhale before he spoke calmly.**

**"I see you've found your way from Chicago."**

**Stine turned around to see a short figure standing at the window. Wally stared at Stine with his eyes glowing in radioactive green.**

**"So, where is he?" Wally questioned, unnervingly calm.**

**Stine knew who Wally was talking about.**

**"He's asleep." The writer partly lied.**

**Wally narrowed his brows at the writer.**

**"You're a terrible liar, Stine." The dummy hissed. "I know you put him back in his book. I heard everything in the bookshop."**

**Stine gave Wally a confused look.**

**"You were there?"**

**"Of Cause I was there you Idiot." Wally lightly insulted. "You didn't recognise me because that little backstabbing piece of trash dressed me in a suit after knocking me out."**

**Wally took a few steps closer to the writer. Stine remained still; putting his hand into his coat.**

**"So I'll ask again. Where is he?!" The dummy growled fiercely.**

**"I told you, Wally. He's not here." Stine argued.**

**Wally gave Stine a grim glare before glancing at the bookshelf. The dummy grinned maliciously as he looked back at Stine.**

**"I see what you're doing." He spoke in a raspy whisper.**

**Stine backed up near the bookshelf as the lights went out; coming back on two seconds later. Wally disappeared from his spot near the window. Stine stood still out of caution.**

**"You're trying to hide him from me."**

**Stine quickly turned around to see Wally sitting on the desk with his legs crossed; holding up a manuscript in his wooden hand. To Stine's horror, it was Slappys’ manuscript.**

**"Keeping brothers apart. That's low even for you Robert." Wally teased; putting his free hand into his left pocket.**

**Stine tried to keep his distance from the dummy, but he was afraid of what he would do with Slappy's manuscript. The writer eyed one of the antiques he had on his shelf. A small cluster of common quarts. Hard enough to hit someone and small enough to throw. Stine put his focus back on Wally.**

**"Wally. Please be reasonable." Stine tried to reason with the puppet. "If you release Slappy, there's going to be trouble."**

**Wally started snickering because of Stine's warning. The dummy looked up at the writer with an evil stare.**

**"Oh, I'm not here to release him." Wally smirked deviously.**

**Stine watched as Wally took his hand out of his pocket. The writer went wide-eyed when he realised that the puppet was holding a lighter. Wally gave Stine a menacing grin.**

**"I'm here to get revenge!" Wally spoke with a hiss.**

**Stine knew what Wally planning to do with that lighter right before he lit it. Wally moved the manuscript to flame.**

**"No!"**

**Stine grabbed the quarts cluster off the shelf and threw it at the dummy; hitting him in the chest and pushing him backwards. With a pain induced grunt, Wally let go of the manuscript and fell onto his back. Stine had to act quickly. The writer quickly ran over and grabbed the book as Wally recuperated. Stine reached into his coat and grabbed what he was keeping in there. Another manuscript called Slappy's nightmare. Just as Wally sat back up with a groan, Stine opened the leather covering of the book; sucking Wally back in. Wally tried to hold onto the desk, but it was no use. Stine stood his ground as the strong force changed Wally back into the ink he was made from and pulled him back into the world of paper as he spoke curses on Stine.**

**"You can't protect him, Robert! I'll get out and I'll make him wish he was never made!" Wally cursed to the writer; swearing revenge on his brother.**

**Wally lost his grip on the desk and disappeared into the manuscript. Stine shut the book and locked it; hoping to never open it again. The writer took a few deep breaths; mildly exhausted from the events that just unfolded. Stine looked at Slappy's manuscript with a guilty look in his eyes. He may have imprisoned Slappy, but he could never let him be burned to death. The writer just kept his guilty thoughts away as he put Slappy's manuscript back on the shelf.**

**Just then, a knock came into hearing at the door. Stine quickly turned around like a freighted animal.**

**"Dad?"**

**The writer took a slight sigh of relief when he heard Hannah's voice. He rushed to the door and opened, revealing Hannah in a pair of dark blue pyjamas.**

**"Hannah, why are you up? It's late." Stine asked with a hint of concern.**

**"I heard something coming from in here." The writer's daughter answered. "Is everything ok?"**

**"Everything's fine, Hannah." Stine reassured.**

**"But I heard someone yelling." Hannah argued.**

**Stine quickly thought of an explanation.**

**"I dropped a box on my foot. I was yelling at myself." The writer made up an excuse.**

**Hannah gave her father a weird look; seemingly confused. Hannah knew her father had an anger problem or two.**

**"Ok then, dad." She replied in a tried voice from lack of sleep.**

**Hannah put her arms around her father and hugged him. Stine hugged back; trying not to look back into the study.**

**"Don't get too angry at yourself."**

**"I won't, sweetheart." Stine waved goodnight as Hannah went back to her room.**

**"And don't stay up too late! You get cranky when you don't get enough sleep." Hannah warned.**

**"I won't. Goodnight."**

**When Hannah was back in her room down the hall, Stine closed the door and looked back at the newly sealed Manuscript with Wally inside. The writer gently picked up the book with a stare of disgusted.**

**"I have another place for you." He spoke in an irritated tone; leaving the study and making his way into the attic**.

(Present)

Stine kept his focus on the paper; twenty words away from being a complete manuscript. Lorraine held the flashlight over the writer and his work in progress while Champ had his hands on the door as he watched for anyone or anything coming. The boy spotted dark figures coming down the hallway.

"Something's coming!" Champ spoke in a nervous shudder; backing away from the door.

Stine looked up at Lorraine and told her to turn the light off. Lorraine quickly switched the light off; leaving the three in the dark. Champ and Lorraine listened with growing nervousness as the sound of running became louder and closer by the second. Stine kept his ground. The three of them jumped at the sound of knocking at the door.

"Guys! It's us!" Zach was yelling from the other sound.

"Let us in!" Hannah followed.

Champ and Lorraine sighed in relief when they heard the voices of their friends. Lorraine turned the flashlight back on and looked down at Stine.

"We better let them in." She suggested.

Champ nodded in agreement and opened the door. When he saw them, Champ blinked in confusion at the state they were, mainly Zach and his bruised forehead.

"Holy cow, what happened to you?" The awkward teen questioned as the pair came through the door.

"I almost got beaten to death by a Vampire gorilla." Zach answered as he rubbed his sore spot.

Champ went wide-eyed at Zach's answer. He was about to ask another question.

"It's done!"

Everyone turned their attention to Stine as he quickly stood up out of his seat with a newly bonded manuscript in his hands. The writer gave everyone an eager grin before speaking again.

"We just need to catch all of Mary Ellen's monsters in one place, and she'll be done for!" He explained with confidence in his voice.

The smile on Stine's face faded when he noticed that the room was too quiet. He realised someone was missing.

"Zach, Hannah? Why isn't Slappy with you?" The writer questioned, sounding a little worried.

"Yeah, where is the little guy?" Lorraine asked, quickly noticing Slappy's absence as Stine did.

Zach wasn't sure how to deliver the news. But Hannah stepped forward.

"That's what we came rushing over here for." The girl looked down at the floor, hoping her father would not panic too much.

* * *

Slappy felt a warm breeze of air on his forehead. The puppet slowly awoke from his short coma; feeling a bit dizzy from that bottle of "Knock out" that Wally used on him. When his eyes where fully open, they went wide when a ghostly pale dog nose was inches away from his face.

"AHH!" Slappy let out a short scream.

The puppet turned his head away from the sight, only to see another monster. Slappy looked around frantically; beginning to hyperventilate when all he saw was ghost dogs, the masked mutant, the knight pulling a wooden steak out of a vampire gorilla's back and the beast from the east; holding Slappy up by his legs. Slappy could see the school at least fifteen metres away.

"So you think my gang are rejects, do ya?"

Slappy heard a female voice from behind him. One that he was anything but happy to hear. The beast turned Slappy around so he could see Mary Ellen. The doll smiled at her captive with her hands on her hips. Wally was standing next to her with his arms crossed and an old witch was standing behind him.

"You shouldn't say stuff like that. It'll come back to get ya." Mary Ellen teased; tapping Slappy on the nose.

Slappy growled animalistically at the tap, but it did not scare Mary Ellen at all.

"Tell your pet to let me go, you cheap hunk of plastic!" Slappy struggled to get free from the grip of the Beast.

Mary Ellen giggled at Slappy's attempt to get free.

"Not gonna happen, sweetie." The doll flicked a lock of her hair out of her face. "We have something to discuss."

"I don't have anything to discuss with you." Slappy spat out with a hint of disgust.

The grin on Mary Ellen's face turned into a grimace. She grabbed Slappy by the collar and pulled him closer. Slappy almost felt sick from the upside down angle.

"Yes you do." Mary Ellen spoke with a throaty growl. "You got something to hide. So I'll ask the question."

Slappy felt his insides going cold as Mary Ellen him the smile of a psycho.

"Where are your monsters?"

Slappy tried not to look nervous in front the doll. If she knew about the book, it would be a disaster.

"I didn't catch that." The puppet replied casually.

"Don't play stupid, short stuff!" Wally spoke harshly. "Stine has more monsters hidden away and you know it."

"I already told you; I don't know!" Slappy lifted his arms up and folded them; turning his head the other way.

Wally and Mary Ellen gave each other knowing looks. Both turned back to Slappy.

"Maybe we need to be a little more tough on you, my darling." Mary Ellen gave Slappy a smug grin.

Slappy raised a brow at the doll as Wally pulled his sleeves up.

"Not the face please." Mary Ellen said to the redheaded dummy.

Slappy's brows went back up as realised what was about to happen. Wally grinned maliciously as he proceeded to force Slappy to speak.

* * *

"He ran off!?" Stine questioned with anger in his voice.

"We don't know how it happened! One minute he was there and then he was gone!" Zach explained to the panicking writer.

Stine held his head in his hands as he let out a muffled groan.

"Is there anything else I need to know about?" The writer tried to calm down.

Hannah had a nervous look on her face; seeing how her father's face was doing the red thing again.

"I wanna tell you, but it's really bad news." She said, giving her father a fearful glance.

"Hannah, I'll try not to panic. I know how it upsets you." Stine said with sincerity.

Hannah nodded before she took a breath and answered.

"Wally took him."

Zach and Hannah watched as Stine's face turned blank with the colour draining; afraid that they might have given the writer a heart attack. Lorraine waved her hand in front of his face.

"Sweetie, are you alright?" She asked gently.

"I'm... Fine... Just... Horrified beyond belief." Stine spoke with awkward pauses.

Zach and Lorraine gave the writer confused looks.

"What's so bad about Wally?" Lorraine asked out of concern.

"Try thinking of Slappy, but with freckles, red hair, a flannel shirt and a volcanic temper times a thousand." Hannah explained to the woman.

While everyone else was making sure Stine's mind was still intact, Champ looked through the blinds and out the window. The awkward teen had a worried looked in his eyes.

"Guys, I think the monsters are doing something." Champ spoke in a worried quiver.

"What?" Stine questioned, snapping out of his episode.

"It-it looks like one of the smaller ones is beating someone up."

Champ shuddered at the thought of it.

"Poor guy." He whispered, feeling worried for whoever it was.

* * *

Slappy held in his pain-induced screams as Wally bashed and punched him in his mid-section. The puppet did not want to give in. He did not want to be weak in front of Wally, Mary Ellen or any of her monsters. After thirty punches, Wally took a break and looked at the face of his punching bag. He smirked as Slappy started to wheeze. The beast of the east lifted Slappy back to Mary Ellen's eye level as she stepped forward.

"Ready to talk yet?" The doll teased, in a creepy casual way.

Slappy gave the doll an icy glare of hatred; maintaining all the strength he had.

"I'll, never talk, you witch!" Slappy snapped at her.

Mary Ellen growled angrily.

"I know you'll crack sooner or later!" The doll held her fist in front of Slappy's face.

Wally placed a hand in Mary Ellen shoulder; making her look up at him.

"There's more than one way to make someone talk." Wally smiled evilly, putting his hand in right pocket.

Slappy watched from his upside down angle as Wally searched his pocket. The tired puppets' eyes went wide when the redheaded dummy pulled a switchblade out from his pocket. Wally ordered the beast to turn Slappy over. The beast grabbed his arm and turned him right side up. The puppet felt himself shaking as Wally played with the knife in his hands.

"Now. Talk!"

Wally attempted to plunge his knife into Slappy's chest, but the puppet grabbed Wally's wrist with his free hand; stopping the knife. Slappy used all the strength he had, but Wally was still stronger than Slappy. The monsters watched like it was entertaining while Mary Ellen grabbed Wally by the collar; getting half of his attention.

"I said force him to talk, not try and stab him!" The doll snapped at him.

"He's made of ink; he won't die but it'll still hurt." Wally pushed his knife closer towards Slappy.

Slappy use all the strength he had to push the knife away from his chest, but Wally kept pushing back.

"I'll take it to my grave!" Slappy spat at Wally.

"Fine by me." Wally smirked, knowing Slappy was at his limit.

Wally pushed the knife further; the sharp tip an inch away from Slappy's chest. Slappy tried to make himself think he was strong and could hold off longer. But he could not.

"I'LL TALK!"

Wally smiled evilly as the other monsters growled in delight. Mary Ellen laughed mockingly. Wally pulled his knife back and the beast let Slappy fall to the ground. Slappy looked up at his kidnappers.

"So. Talk." Mary Ellen bent down to Slappy's level.

Slappy felt his throat tighten as he tried to speak.

"They're ... They're at Stine's house." The puppet said in a drained whisper. "In a book."

"Where did he put it!?" Wally questioned further.

"I don't know... He hid it somewhere after he released me."

"Well, we'll just have to ran-shack his house then." Mary Ellen put her hands to her hips.

Mary Ellen and Wally turned to face the other monsters. While Mary E was giving the monsters a speech, Slappy felt sick to his core. He just told them where to find an entire army of monsters. The puppet silently tore at the grass beneath him; thinking he betrayed Stine. After all the kindness his creator gave him. Slappy knew he was going to be responsible for another disaster. His brows went down as he clenched his fist. He was not going to wallow in his self-pity. He stood up as Mary Ellen finished her speech.

"And when we open it, no one will stop us!" She proudly boasted.

"Don't push your luck!"

Slappy charged at Mary Ellen and Wally; pushing them to ground and jumping over them. He ran through the barking ghosts and started running for the school just as the doll and the redheaded dummy sat back up. Mary Ellen moved her hair out of her face as she let out a high pitched squeal. Wally backed away from her as she looked up at the surrounding monsters; her eyes turning red.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! GET HIM!" Mary Ellen shouted at full volume.

The barking ghosts, the masked mutant, and the knight chased after Slappy. Slappy ran as fast as he could and he did not look back. The puppet made it to the doors as his pursuers were closer. Slappy quickly squeezed through the doors and ran for the library. The monsters smashed through the glass doors; shattering it to pieces with a crash.

* * *

Hannah jumped as she heard a loud crash outside the library. Stine and the gang turned to the door.

"What was that!?" Champ questioned.

Stine and Lorraine quickly went to the door to see what made the noise. The writer opened the door just as Slappy came around the corner. Stine went wide as the puppet quickly turned to face him in a panicky fashion.

"Papa!"

Slappy ran towards the library door as the monsters came around the corner; crashing into the lockers and leaving a big dent. They quickly recuperated before Slappy could reach the door. Stine held his hand out to the puppet as Slappy reached out to him. Stine caught him. But so did the mutant.

Stine tried to pull Slappy into the library while the mutant tried to pull him back. Slappy felt himself being pulled like a rope in a game of tag of war; looking back at the monsters in fear. He turned back to Stine.

"Papa, listen to me!" He started yelling over the noise. "They made me talk! They know about the book!"

Stine kept a tight grip on Slappy as the puppet tried to explain. The others quickly went to help Stine and Slappy, but the monsters weren't giving up.

"They can't get their hands on it! You need to make sure they don't find it! Warn Zach's mother and tell her to hide it!"

"Slappy, I won't let them take you!" Stine felt his grip on Slappy slipping.

"Don't let go!" Lorraine shouted, holding onto Stine as he held onto Slappy.

"That's not important right now!" Slappy yelled over all the commotion.

Stine lost his grip on Slappy. The writer fell backwards as the monsters pulled Slappy away. Lorraine, Hannah and Zach helped Stine get back up as the masked mutant held Slappy by his arm. Slappy looked back at Stine.

"Don't let them find it!" The puppet called out as he was carried away.

Stine chased after the monsters with the new manuscript in his hands; wanting to save Slappy. Zach, Hannah, Champ and Lorraine quickly went after him. The writer chased the kidnappers around the corner. They went back out the shattered door; seemingly laughing triumphantly on the way out. Stine stopped at the door to catch his breath as Lorraine and the kids caught up with him. All of them watched the monsters regrouped with Mary Ellen on the field; getting ready to leave.

"What do we do now!?" Champ questioned with panic in his voice.

Stine adjusted his glasses as he glared at the group of monsters.

"Everyone, get in the car."

Lorraine and the kids quickly did as Stine said; climbing into the car with no time to lose. Stine quickly got into the driver’s seat and started the car.

Mary Ellen grinned with delight as she saw the masked mutant coming towards her with Slappy in his grip. Slappy struggled to get loose, but it was no use.

"Good job." The doll clapped in applause.

The mutant smirked evilly as he passed Slappy to the Vampirilla. Slappy looked up at the Vampirilla in fear as it growled at him.

"Alright, back to the junkyard!" Wally announced, hopping onto the Knight's horse.

The monsters growled with delight as they prepared to leave. Mary Ellen stopped the mutant in his tracks.

"Hang on, handsome hunk." She smirked maliciously. "I have a special job for you."


	16. The Chase

Stine reversed out of the parking space and drove out of the school lot. The writer turned to the back seat for a second to face Zach.

"Zach, call your mother and warn her!" Stine instructed.

"I didn't bring my phone." Zach said in frustration as he searched his pockets.

Champ quickly reached into his pocket and took out his phone.

"You can use mine." He offered for Zach to use.

Zach quickly took the phone from Champ and dialled the number to his mother's phone. He waited nervously as the ringing started.

* * *

Mrs Cooper was reading her book 'Tower of terror' in the living room. Her phone started ringing on the coffee table; making her put look up from her book. She quickly put her book down, getting up and walking to the table to answer the call. Mrs Cooper picked up the phone and pressed the accept button.

"Hello?" She said into the phone.

"Mom, it's me!"

Mrs Cooper blinked upon hearing the voice of her son.

"Zach? Are you coming home?" She asked, wandering why he was calling.

"No, mom; I need you to do something, and it's important!"

Mrs Cooper felt uneasy because of Zach's worried tone.

* * *

Zach kept the phone close as Stine drove after the monsters. Champ, Hannah and Lorraine held on in case Stine's driving was to become reckless. Mary Ellen looked back at the pursuers. Riding on the back of the beast of the east. The doll gave them an icy glare before turning to the witch.

"Get them to stop following us." She ordered with an unemotional tone.

The witch pulled a small velvet bag out of her clothes. She emptied its contents on the road; leaving red powder on the black pavement. The red powder began to grow in size; soon forming into a wall and seemingly blocking the path.

"Everyone brace yourselves!" Stine warned, ramming into the powder wall.

Lorraine and the kids covered their eyes as the car drove through the wall. Zach heard his mother asking questions on the other side of the call.

"Zach, what's all that noise?" Mrs Cooper asked, sounding worried.

"Mom, it's happening again! The Monsters have come back!" Zach tried to explain.

Mary Ellen growled in frustration while Slappy cheered at the sight. The doll turned back at the witch.

"Try something else!" She yelled.

The witch gave Mary Ellen an angry sneer before taking something out of her coat again. This time, she took out a hand full of sharp looking crystals. She threw them onto the road in Stine's path. Just as the car was catching up, the sharp crystals dug into the tires; making them deflate. Slappy watched with growing fear as the car began to the slowdown. He had no idea where Mary and Wally were taking him, and Stine would not know either. He needed to do something. Slappy had an idea, but he wasn't sure if it was wise or if it would work. The puppet looked at his hand as he came to a choice.

"I really don't want to do this." He thought to himself.

Making sure none of the monsters were watching him, Slappy closed his eyes and bit into his hand. The puppet grunted in pain as he finished. Looking at his hand, he managed to make a hand full of ink come out from the bite. Slappy quickly flicked his hand and dropped the ink on the road; knowing it would start moving and try to go back to him. Now Slappy could only hope Stine would see it and follow it.

Stine and Lorraine quickly got out of the car and watched as the monsters faded into the darkness of the night. Stine wanted to run after them himself, but he could only run five meters before he started shouting at himself.

"It wasn't meant to go this way!" He screamed at the cloudy sky.

Lorraine and Hannah quickly ran to Stine to calm him down. Stine fell to his knees with his head in his hands. Lorraine kneeled beside him while Hannah put her hand on his back.

"I told him things would be different." Stine sounded like he was holding back tears. "I promised I would never abandon him again."

"It's okay, sweetheart. We'll get him back." Lorraine reassured; putting her arms around Stine.

Hannah looked down at the ground; hating to see her father so upset over something that wasn't his fault. Before she could think about it for long, Hannah noticed something on the road. She blinked curiously as she went to take a look at it. Hannah bent down on her knee as she looked at the substance. It was a bit hard to see because it was black like the road. Hannah ran back to the car, took out a torch and ran back to the substance. The girl shined the light on it. She blinked in surprised as the substance moved and oozed towards the way the monsters went. Hannah realised what it was. It was ink.

Champ watched as Zach tried to talk to his mother over the phone.

"Zach, Where are you!? What do mean the monsters are back!?" Mrs Cooper questioned with growing worry.

"Mom, I'm fine! I'm with Mr Stine!" Zach tried to reassure her. "Before you ask any more questions, I need you to do something, and it's important."

Zach listened as his mother began to speak calmly.

"Ok, I'm listening." Mrs Cooper finally calmed down.

Zach smiled a little before speaking into the phone.

"I need you to go into Mr Stine's house and get something." He instructed.

* * *

Mrs Cooper nodded before walking out of her house.

"What do I need to get?" She asked, making her way to the house next door.

"There's a book that the monsters want. We need to hide it." Zach further instructed.

* * *

"Dad! You need to see this!" Hannah turned towards her father.

Stine and Lorraine looked up at Hannah as she pointed to the ink on the road. The pair quickly got up to see it. Stine looked down at the sight with wide eyes as it moved forward.

"What is that stuff?" Lorraine questioned, a bit grossed out.

"It's ink." Stine answered. "One of the monsters must have injured themselves."

The writer looked up with a growing smile.

"Do you know what this means?"

"We still have a chance." Hannah finished her father's thought.

"Yes! We haven't been beaten yet!" Stine said with boosted confidence.

Stine turned to Zach and Champ.

"Zachary! Champion!"

The boys looked back at Stine as he told them to come over.

"One of the monsters left some ink! We can follow it!" The writer started following the moving ink.

"Dad, wait up!" Hannah got up and chased after him.

Lorraine and the boys quickly followed. Zach put the phone back to his ear to give his mother further instructions.

* * *

Mrs Cooper stopped in front of the door of the Stine household. She just realised that the door could be locked. She looked down at the door mat and bent down to look under it. Mrs Cooper smiled when she spotted a key under the mat. She picked it up and opened the door.

"Alright, Zach; I'm inside." Mrs Cooper spoke into the phone. "So where's the book?"

"Just a second, mom."

Mrs Cooper waited in the doorway as Zach said something to Stine on the other line.

"Stine says he hid it in his bedroom; under the mattress." Zach informed. "First door on the left when you go upstairs."

"Ok, got it."

Mrs Cooper made her way upstairs; stopping at the first door on the left. She slowly opened it and turned on the light; revealing a king sized bed near the middle of the room. The room was painted in a light grey with a window on the right wall. Besides a wooden wardrobe and a body length mirror, the room seemed quite plain and well kept. Mrs Cooper went over to the bed and lifted the mattress.

"Is there a book under there, mom?" Zach asked from the other line.

Mrs Cooper quickly took the book from under the mattress and put it back in place on the bed. She looked at the leather covering of the manuscript and its hard metal lock.

"I got it, Zach." She spoke into the phone as she looked at the title; Slappys’ revenge.

"Ok, good. Now whatever you do, don't open it." Zach warned. "Just take it back to our house and hide it somewhere safe."

Mrs Cooper nodded as she started going back downstairs with the book in her hands.

"I'll hide it somewhere in the kitchen. Maybe in the-"

Mrs Cooper stopped in the middle of the steps and fell silent. Someone was in the middle of the doorway. It was Zach. Zach smiled at her in an unnerving way.

"Hi, mom." He spoke in a monotone voice despite his smile.

Mrs Cooper went back up one step; still holding the phone to her ear.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Zach spoke from the other line in a worried tone.

"Zach, I know this might sound crazy."

Mrs Cooper swallowed a bit of saliva before whispering into the phone.

"But you're at the front door." She said in a nervous whisper.

The fake Zach took a step forward as Mrs Cooper waited for the real one to say something.

"Mom, you need to get out of there! That's not me!" The real Zach warned; afraid that his mother was in danger.

"What's the matter, mom? It's me, Zach." The fake Zach spoke unemotionally. "I'm just here to take the book."

Mrs Cooper eyed the railing on the stairs; seeing an opening to kitchen. She turned back to the fake Zach with a firm stare.

"You're not Zach."

Mrs Cooper quickly put the book under her arm and jumped over the railing; making a run for the kitchen. The fake Zach did not run, but he followed her. Mrs Cooper ran for the door in the kitchen. But it was locked. The woman turned around to see the fake Zach coming towards her with an angry stare. His eyes turned yellow as he grabbed the door frame.

"Give me the book." He said in a deep voice. "Don't make this harder than it already is."

Mrs Cooper backed into the door as the imposter came closer. She spotted a frying pan within hands reach on the counter. The imposter took a small chunk of the door frame and threw it behind him. Just as he was about to close in on Mrs Cooper, she took the pan and slammed it across his face with a loud clang. Mrs Cooper stared in fear as the imposter's right arm started changing into solid metal. He turned his head around with a grim glare in his yellow eyes.

"You shouldn't have done that, human."

The imposter grabbed the phone from Mrs Cooper's hand with his metal arm, and crushed it.

* * *

"Mom? Mom!?"

Zach shouted into the phone as he heard the sounds of a struggle on the other line. The others turned to him with concern and worry as he started panicking. Before they could ask what was wrong, Zach went blank as he heard nothing but dial tone. Champ shook a little as Zach gave his phone back to him.

"What happened?" The awkward teen asked in concern.

"They... They got my mom." Zach answered, trying to hide his fear.

Hannah put her hands over her mouth while Lorraine almost cried at the thought of her sister being hurt or captured. Stine shook his head at the horrible realisation. But he knew what had to be done.

"We can still save her."

Everyone turned to Stine as he pointed the flashlight to the ink.

"Where ever Mary Ellen and her monsters are hiding, that's where your mother will be as well."

"How can you be sure about that!?" Zach questioned, clearly distraught by what just happened.

"I'm not." The writer admitted. "But we'll just have to go on. And if she's there, we'll save her."

Zach looked at Hannah and Champ; unsure if they should go with Stine's word. Lorraine put her hand on his shoulder.

"He's right, Zach." She tried to reassure him, even though she was just as distraught.

Hannah nodded to reassure him as well. With a brief sigh, Zach looked back at Stine and nodded.

"Alright." He spoke softly, finding new determination within himself.

Without a minute to lose, Stine and the gang followed the black ink; having no idea of what was waiting for them.


	17. Escape

Slappy watched with wide eyes as the Vampirilla carried him into a scrapyard that he had never been too. He franticly looked at the sharp metals surrounding him; like he was taken into a metal jungle maze.  He wanted to cover his ears as he thought the other monsters were laughing at him. Slappy watched as Mary Ellen and Wally jumped off of the monsters they were riding with and onto the dirt. Mary Ellen looked up at the witch and pointed to the middle of the ground. The witch casted a spell; making a large Bonfire and lighting torches placed around the area.  
Slappy let out a painful grunt as the Vampirilla dropped him to the ground. The puppet quickly sat up and looked at the monsters surrounding him. He should have felt like he was in good company, but he was afraid for his life. Mary Ellen giggled as she and Wally stepped in front of Slappy.  
  
“I know it's not much to look at. But it's pretty terrifying, don't you think?” The doll referred to her scrap metal hideout.  
  
Slappy gave Mary Ellen a vengeful and hateful glare. Wally smirked as Slappy reminded silent.  
  
“What's the matter, runt? Cat got ya tongue?” The redheaded dummy mocked.  
  
“You’ll never find it.” Slappy finally spoke. “And you can't keep me here. Papa will come for me.”  
  
Mary Ellen raised a brow at Slappy’s stubbornness.  
  
“You should put your money where your mouth is, sweetie.” Mary Ellen leaned towards Slappy with an unnerving grin. “I sent somebody to your Papas’ house. He should be back anytime now.”  
  
The monsters turned their attention to the path to the front entrance as they heard someone yelling and struggling.  
  
“Let me go, you freak!” A female voice called out angrily.  
  
Wally smirked at the sound.  
  
“Speaking of the devil.” He spoke with a devious grin.  
  
Slappy looked towards the entrance as the masked mutant came through with a struggling woman over his shoulder. The puppet went wide eyed when he noticed that the mutant had a book in his hand. The supervillain monster dropped the women to the ground and handed the book to Mary Ellen. Slappy recognised the woman as she sat up and was picked up by the mutant again. It was Zach’s mother. Mary Ellen grinned as she felt the leather covering of the manuscript; as if she could feel the unholy power inside it.  
  
“Good work, Mutant.” She spoke with a sadistic giggle. “We’re gonna have so much fun with this.”  
  
In response to that statement, Slappy quickly stood up. The knight grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground. Slappy grunted angrily before looking towards Mary Ellen.  
  
“You have no idea what you're doing!” The puppet warned. “Those monsters won't listen to you or Wally; you’ll kill all of us!”  
  
Mary Ellen raised a brow at Slappy then looked at Wally.  
  
“He’s probably just upset because he tried it and failed.” The redheaded dummy whispered in mockery.  
  
“Oh, really?” Mary Ellen gave Slappy a playful grin. “Well, think of it this way, my darling. I'm just finishing what you started. And after this, we can do as we please with no one in the way.”  
  
Slappy struggled some more.  
  
“You don't understand. If you let those monsters out, they’ll kill me!” The puppet raised his voice.  
  
“Nice try, sweetie. But you're not gonna change my mind.” Mary Ellen said with a smug look on her face. “If what you said was true, Stine is coming here. And when he does, he’s gonna be in for a nasty surprise.”  
  
Slappy and Mrs Cooper struggled to get free from their kidnappers, but it was no use.  
  
“Lock them up!” Mary Ellen ordered; pointing to a path around the corner. “And don't let them out of your sight, Waldo.”  
  
Wally gave Mary Ellen a harsh glare.  
  
“Why do I have to watch these chumps?” The redheaded dummy spoke with a quiet grunt.  
  
“Cause if they try anything-”  
  
Mary Ellen whispered something into Wally’s ear. Slappy and Mrs Cooper watched with growing discomfort as the evil grin on his face grew wider by the second. Mary Ellen took a step back with the manuscript behind her back and a cheeky grin on her lips.  
  
“Good enough for me.” Wally spoke with an evil grin.  
  
The redheaded dummy turned to the knight and the mutant; holding up their prisoners.  
  
“You heard the lady, put them in a cage or something!”  
  
With that, the knight and the mutant marched into a path around corner with Slappy and Mrs Cooper in their grasp. Wally followed and watched the hulking monsters as they put Slappy in a rusty birdcage and put Mrs Cooper into a broken down car; blocking the doors and half of the windows with large chunks of metal. Slappy shook the bars of his cage as claustrophobia started kicking in while Mrs Cooper banged her hands against the window.  
  
“That’s good enough boys. I’ll take it from here.” Wally ordered the two monsters to leave.  
  
When the knight and the mutant were out of sight, Wally walked towards Slappy’s cage; stopping in front of it with his hands behind his back. Mrs Cooper watched with frighted curiosity as Wally looked down at Slappy with a smug grin.  
  
“Not so tough now are ya?” The redheaded dummy mocked. “No matter where you go or what you do, you always get stuck somewhere.”  
  
Slappy looked up at Wally with a glare of pure hatred. Wally raised a brow.  
  
“Why so quiet? Usually it’s almost impossible to shut you up.”  
  
“You have no idea of what I’ll do to you when I get out of here.” Slappy threatened. “I’ll get out of this cage and I’ll beat you to a pulp before Papa comes!”  
  
“The big nerd wrote another one?” Wally questioned. “Doesn't he have enough problems to deal with.”  
  
“He didn't make another monster! He’s going to put you back where you and Mary belong!”  
  
Wally gave Slappy an odd look.  
  
“Back in a book?” He questioned.  
  
Slappy did not respond. He just stared at Wally with a glare of pure hatred. Wally smirked at Slappy.  
  
“Aren't you worried?” He questioned in a tone opposite of concerned.  
  
“No. Why should I?” Slappy tried to sound brave.  
  
Wally inched closer to the cage; a smirk still on his face.  
  
“What if you get sucked in too?”  
  
Slappy’s brows went up. The thought never came to him until now. The first manuscript sucked Slappy and all the monsters in. Even Hannah, and she did nothing wrong. Slappy went silent as the horrifying idea took a place in his head.  
  
“If you let your ‘papa’ win, you’ll get trapped again. With me.” Wally tormented his brother.  
  
Slappy shook his head in disbelief.  
  
“He wouldn't do that to me.” He spoke in a shaky voice. “He promised.”  
  
“But he’s lied to you before.” Wally argued. “What's stopping him from doing it again?”  
  
“Because he released me on purpose.”  
  
“That won't stop him. And you can't behave yourself.”  
  
Slappy covered his ears as Wally continued with his harsh words.  
  
“You’ll mess up just once, and he’ll put you back on the shelf like he did with all his monsters! He’ll throw you away like the play toy you are and leave you-”  
  
Slappy kicked the bars of his cage and rattled them; making Wally back away.  
  
“SHUT YOUR MOUTH, WALLY! I KNOW YOU’RE LYING AND TRYING TO BREAK ME!” Slappy screamed his heart out.  
  
Wally raised a brow as the eyes of his brother began to tear up. The redheaded dummy smiled sadistically.  
  
“Well it looks like I have.”  
  
Mrs Cooper watched as Wally turned away and stood near the path back to the bonfire. She looked back at Slappy’s cage; noticing that he was tearing up. Mrs Cooper tapped on the window; getting his attention. Slappy turned his head as his body started shaking.  
  
“W-what do you want?” The puppet questioned in a shaky whisper.  
  
Mrs Cooper found the lever to open the window, but it only opened half way. She used it anyway so Slappy could hear her.  
  
“Are you alright?” Mrs Cooper asked out of concern, even though Slappy freaked her out a little.  
  
Slappy wiped his nose with his sleeve.  
  
“Well, my ego just took a massive beating, so not really.” The puppet answered, trying not to sound too sarcastic.  
  
Slappy already knew who Mrs Cooper was, but he knew if he said anything about Stine or Zach, she could freak out.  
  
“So, who are you?” the puppet tried to make conversation.  
  
“My name is Gale Cooper.” Mrs Cooper introduced herself.  
  
“So, how did you get caught?”  
  
“I was trying to hide that book I had with me. My son called me and asked me to do it, but that... That thing grabbed me and dragged me here with that book.”  
  
Slappy went wide eyed as Mrs Cooper explained what happened. He was glad Zach did as he was warned, but now he was afraid it would be for nothing at this rate.  
  
“Why do they need it anyway? It’s just a book.” Mrs Cooper questioned, afraid and confused of the intentions of the monsters.

  
“Because it's a book that has an army of monsters trapped inside it.” Slappy answered in a harsh tone.  
  
Mrs Cooper blinked with wide eyes; muttering an ’oh’ under her breath. Slappy looked at Wally; noticing how unfocused he seemed. The puppet wiped his near watering eyes.  
  
“We have to get out of here.” He thought to himself.  
  
Slappy glanced at Mrs Cooper for a second. Maybe if he could get her out of here and take back the book, Stine will have time to seal Mary Ellen, Wally and the monsters away, and he could gain Zachs’ trust. The puppet felt the rusted bars of his cage and shook them gently. They became loose from that huge kick. Slappy raised a brow as he looked at Wally facing away from him and Mrs Cooper. The puppet leaned against the back of his cage; trying to look relaxed.  
  
“There’s something I don't understand about you, Wally.” Slappy said out loud for his brother to hear.  
  
Mrs Cooper watched in silence as Wally turned his head around like a possessed person in a horror movie.  
  
“What don't you get, you little twerp?” Wally insulted the caged puppet.  
  
Slappy raised a brow before speaking.  
  
“I was just wondering... Why is Mary Ellen in charge instead of you?”  
  
Wally raised a brow, almost annoyed by the question.  
  
“Why do you ask?” He turned his body to match his head.  
  
“Well, it's just that you seem like the one who should be in charge of this whole thing and you’ve just been taking orders from Ms what's-her-face.” Slappy explained in a smug voice.  
  
Wally walked over to Slappy’s cage and shook it out of spite; making Slappy lose balance and fall backwards.  
  
“I'm not taking orders from her!” The redheaded dummy shouted with his brows down.  
  
“I’m not saying that; I'm just saying that you should be in charge instead of her.” Slappy explained his opinion. “What’s she done besides boss you and everyone around?”  
  
Wally took a step back from the cage and turned the other way in thought. Slappy was actually right. Mary Ellen made herself look like the leader, but she wasn't pulling her weight that much besides breaking the locks open.  
  
“I'm being ripped off.” Wally growled to himself.  
  
The redhead dummy turned back to Slappy for a few seconds.  
  
“I'll deal with you later.”  
  
Wally turned away and stormed off to the bonfire area to talk to Marry Ellen. Slappy stood back with q quiet chuckle in his voice while Mrs Cooper observed him.  
  
“What a dummy.” Slappy silently laughed.  
  
The puppet leaned against the back of his cage and stretched his legs forward towards the rusting bars; knowing they would break and give way at any moment. Finally, the rusted bars came loose from the joints at the top and fell forward to the ground. Slappy carefully slipped out of the cage; freeing himself from the rusty prison. The puppet turned to the car with Mrs Cooper inside. He quietly climbed on the hood of the car and looked through the windshield. Mrs Cooper went back as Slappy gave a signal to stay quiet. Slappy pressed his finger against the glass of the windshield. He pressed a little harder each second before the glass finally cracked in five pieces. Slappy carefully removed the pieces; making an opening large enough for Mrs Cooper to go through.  
  
“Well, come on.” The puppet held his hand out to her.  
  
Mrs Cooper gave the puppet a paranoid look. She wasn’t sure if she could trust him. But he did go through a bit of trouble to get out of his cage, and he is helping her get out. Mrs Cooper careful climbed out of the broken windshield; staying away from any broken glass. Slappy climbed off the hood of the car and looked around the area. The junkyard was basically a maze. If they took a wrong turn they could get captured again. Or worse. Slappy noticed a path behind the car; seeing it as a means of escape.  
  
“You best stick with me.” He said to Mrs Cooper as he took her hand.  
  
Slappy walked quickly with Mrs Cooper close behind him. Both of them squeezed through the new path; hoping to find a way out of this mess. Mrs Cooper looked down at the small puppet leading the way; feeling less uncomfortable with him, but still a bit nervous.  
  
“So, you're not with these monsters?” She asked of him.  
  
“Of course not. The one who was guarding us wants me dead and the cheap hunk of plastic has an unhealthy obsession with me.” Slappy answered in a disgusted tone. “I know I'm not perfect, but I think I look pretty decent compared to them.”  
  
Mrs Cooper gave Slappy a weird look before nodding anyway.  
  
“Do you know where to go?” She asked, thinking they were lost.  
  
“No idea. But we’ll be fine as long as we don’t-”  
  
Slappy quickly fell silent and stopped in his tracks as he saw a red glow coming their way. Telling Mrs Cooper to go back, the two hid behind piles of assorted metal scrap. The knight in screaming armour walked passed them; patrolling the area. When he was gone, Slappy and Mrs Cooper came out of hiding and continued to find a way out. The pair made it to the fence surrounding the junkyard. Slappy observed the wooden fence in hopes of finding a way through. The puppet spotted a loose plank of wood in the middle; making his eyes glow in delight.  
  
“Perfect.”  
  
Slappy held onto Mrs Cooper’s hand as he led her to the fence. Slappy grabbed the loose board and moved it to the side. The puppet turned to the woman.  
  
“Go on, go.” Slappy said in a straight foreword tone.  
  
Mrs Cooper squeezed through the gap in the fence. She turned back to face Slappy.  
  
“Are you coming?” She questioned why he wasn't going through.  
  
“Not yet.” Slappy answered back. “I need to get something first.”  
  
The puppet put the wooden plank back over the gap. He looked around to make sure no one was looking at him as he snuck away.  
  
“Wait!” Mrs Cooper called from the other side of the fence. “I didn't get your name.”  
  
Slappy froze in his tracks. He looked back to the fence with a nervous look in his glassy eyes. He didn't want to say his name in case Mrs Cooper knew about him and what he did to the town six months ago. The puppet fiddled with the buttons on his jacket before answering.  
  
“My... My name is... Sammy. My name is Sammy.” Slappy blurted out in a lie. “You should go. Before the monsters catch you.”  
  
Slappy walked away before Mrs Cooper could respond. The woman looked at the fence as the small wooden stranger walked away to get what he needed.  
  
“Ok... Thank you.”  
  
With that, Mrs Cooper stepped away from the fence, and began running in the direction she came.


	18. Rescue

Stine kept his focus on the black ink as it slithered and oozed foreword on the road. Lorraine and the kids followed and watched with suspense; thinking of what would happen when they reach the hiding place of the monsters.

“Is it much further?” Champ questioned in a shaky voice.

“I don't know.” Stine replied, still focused on the ink.

Lorraine looked back at the kids. Zach had his head down as he walked while Hannah had her arm around him; trying to comfort him.

“It’ll be ok, Zach.” The girl reassured him.

“Your mom might have gotten away.” Champ suggested.

Zach looked up at friends; uncertain if he should take their word for it.

“I want to believe that.” He admitted. “But, I'm just worried.”

“Trust me, Zach. I’ve known your mother my whole life; she's tough.” Lorraine explained; trying to reassure Zach.

Zach stayed silent for a few seconds, but he nodded anyway. Stine stopped as he saw something running towards him and the group. Lorraine bumped into him, but Stine gently pushed everyone back.

“Something’s coming this way!” The writer warned.

The sound of someone running came closer by every second. Stine pointed the flashlight at the figure coming towards them. Lorraine and Zach watched as they started hearing huffing and puffing coming from the figure while Champ kept his distance and Hannah stood her ground. Zach and Lorraine silently gasped as the figure became visible as she stopped to take a breath.

“Mom!”

Without thinking twice, Zach ran towards his mother as she looked up to see her son. Lorraine quickly followed as Stine, Hannah and Champ watched. Zach hugged his mother tightly as did Lorraine; both relieved to see her alive.

“Did they hurt you?” Zach questioned worryingly as he pulled away and looked at her.

“I'm ok, Zach.” Mrs Cooper smiled to reassure her son.

“I knew you’d get away!” Lorraine spoke with a knowing smile as she hugged her sister.

Mrs Cooper pulled away with a worried look on her face.

“I didn't do it on my own.” She tried to explain.

Stine walked up to the small group.

“Did someone help you escape?” The writer questioned.

“Actually, yes.” Mrs Cooper began to explain. “He was a puppet in a suit.”

Stine and the group gave Mrs Cooper looks of surprise and confusion.

“Slappy helped you escape?” Zach questioned in complete disbelief.

“What? No, a puppet named Sammy helped me.” Mrs Cooper corrected, unknowingly wrong.

Stine and Hannah shook their heads; knowing how infamous Slappy is for lying.

“Do you know where all the monsters are?” Lorraine asked of her sister.

“They're at the junkyard. I just came from there.” Mrs Cooper pointed to the way she came from.

Stine looked towards the way Mrs Cooper was pointing and looked down at the ink. The writer quickly turned to face the group.

“Alright, we know where to go.” He spoke with newfound determination. “Come on.”

Stine pointed his flashlight back towards the road; now running.

“Dad; wait up!” Hannah ran to catch up with her father.

Lorraine and Champ quickly ran after the writer and his daughter. Mrs Cooper was about chase after them, but Zach stopped her and stood in front of her.

“Mom, I want you to go home where it’s safe.” The teen warned, sounding protective.

“Zach, I'm going with you.” Mrs Cooper protested.

“I don't want you to get hurt.”

Mrs Cooper gently pushed away from her son and looked up at him; giving him a half smile.

“Zach, I can take care of myself. And if that book is as dangerous as Sammy said, I'm not going to sit back and watch.”

Mrs Cooper ran past Zach despite his protests. Zach ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed in frustration.

“If Slappy put her under some spell, I’ll kill him.” He thought out loud as he ran after the others.

* * *

Slappy quietly looked around the corner; making sure no one was there to spot him. The puppet kept his focus as he made his way through the maze of scrap metal. He needed to get the manuscript back from Mary Ellen before Stine came, or else. Slappy decided to take the short way and climb over some of the scrap yard junk. The puppet quickly climbed over the wall of scrap and stood up straight at the top; keeping his balance as he carefully walked to where the Bon fire was glowing in dark.

“If luck is on my side, Mary-ugly-face and Wally should be in an argument by now.” Slappy thought to himself.

Slappy stopped in tracks when he noticed the mutant and the knight were in the path underneath him. He quickly got out of the way and hid among the scrap metal. He overheard the two monsters having a conversation as they walked past.

“So, as a shapeshifter, you can become anything you wish. Is that correct?”

“Yes. But not liquid. Did it once; quickly regretted it.”

Slappy looked up from his hiding place when the two monsters were gone. He quickly resumed his way. The puppet slowed down as he heard Wally’s voice.

“I was written before you! I should be the one giving orders!”

Slappy knew that Wally and Mary Ellen were just on the other side of the scrap metal wall. The puppet knew he had to get over there, but if he climbed over he would be seen. Slappy looked at every bit of the wall; not sure what to do. He spotted something at the bottom. Slappy looked closer to see an opening among the metal, big enough for him to fit through.

“Don't you forget that I let you out, big nose.”

Slappy heard Mary Ellen snap back at Wally with an insult. Slappy crawled into the opening as he heard the argument.

“Besides, I let you tell everyone else what to do, so you are giving orders.” She continued.

“Well, what have you done to support this ‘Nobel course’, huh?” Wally argued back.

Slappy crawled forward as he saw the sight of a fire and a pair of legs in jeans. The puppet quickly stopped as another pair of legs with a dress appeared. Slappy realised that he was right under a broken down car, which also doubled as Mary Ellen’s throne. The puppet kept his mouth shut as the doll and the redheaded dummy continued to argue.

“And why haven't you opened that book already? Just break open the lock!” Wallys’ voice began to yell.

“Not until Stine gets here!” Mary Ellen raised her voice; holding the book by her side. “I want to get rid of him with his own creations and have Slappy to myself!”

Slappy put his hand over his mouth; feeling like he was going to vomit from Mary Ellen’s lustful wording. Wally growled animalistically before pinning Mary Ellen to the front of the car. The doll dropped the book as Wally stared at her with his eyes glowing radioactive green.

“Who cares what you want!?” Wally snapped at the doll. “I want revenge on my stupid brother, but you're trying to make him your sweetheart!”

Slappy saw his chance. As Wally continued his rant, the smaller puppet reached out from under the car, grabbed the manuscript and quickly went back under the car. Slappy put the book into his jacket and slipped back through where he came. Wally continued his rant as he kept Mary Ellen pinned to the car.

“What's so appealing about him anyway!? He’s a weakling compared to me! I should've come of the Night of the Living Dummy manuscript instead of him! I was the main monster; he was just the twist at the end!!”

Mary Ellen raised a brow at the redhead dummy after he took a break from his rage episode.

“I'm sensing a hint of jealousy here.” She said with a sly smirk.

Wally gave the doll a weird look before letting go of her.

“I'm not jealous.” He spoke in a raspy whisper. “I just hate his guts.”

“Oh, don't be like that.” Mary Ellen spoke with a lustful smirk. “If it makes you feel better, you can use him for a punching bag after I'm done using him for-”

Mary Ellen stopped at in mid-sentence when she glanced at the bottom of the car. Her eyes went wide when she realised the manuscript was gone.

“Where’s the book?” The doll spoke with anger and worry.

“You lost it?!” Wally questioned in a bitter tone.

“No I didn't; it was right there when you pinned me down and yelled at me!” Mary Ellen snapped at Wally.

Before they could argue any further, the Beast of the East came rushing in from the corner where Slappy and Mrs Cooper were locked up; roaring and growling for attention.

“What is it, fleabag?” Mary Ellen replied in an irritated tone.

The beast quickly turned back, gesturing for Mary Ellen and Wally to follow him. Mary Ellen and Wally followed the monster; thinking nothing of it. Until they saw the cage and the car with their prisoners missing. Mary Ellen stood there frozen. The beast and Wally backed away.

“So, you wanted to be in charge?” The doll said in a calm voice.

Wally nodded slightly.

“Yeah?” The redheaded dummy replied.

Mary Ellen turned to face him with a wide grin on her face.

“Let me ask you one question.”

In a moment of mood whiplash, Mary Ellen slapped Wally across the face, nearly knocking him down to the ground.

“WHY SHOULD YOU BE IF YOU CAN’T EVEN KEEP A STUPID HUMAN AND A DUMMY LOCKED UP!!?” The doll shouted as Wally recovered. “GATHER THE OTHERS AND FIND SLAPPY!! DON’T LET HIM ESCAPE!!!”

Wally growled in response before turning to the Beast.

“Send a signal.” The redhead dummy ordered, rubbing his cheek.

The Beast of the East held his head up high and let out an ear piercing roar.

Slappy stopped in his tracks as he heard the roar from his spot in the maze. The puppet looked back, knowing that the ‘terrible two’ now knew of his absence. If he was not in trouble before, he certainly was now. Slappy quickly resumed running; hanging onto the book like his life depended on it, and in a way, it did. Slappy stopped and looked around as he reached a familiar spot in the maze. The puppet looked around as he began to panic.

“What way was it!?” He shouted in his head.

Slappy looked to the left side of the path. He spotted a bit of light coming from a distance over the scrape and junk. He heard monster roars and yells coming from the other direction. Slappy decided to take his chances and go towards the light source. Slappy ran as fast as he could through the maze; trying to remember where everything was. The puppet looked back as he ran; making sure no one was following him. Slappy noticed something coming around the corner. It was not another monster. It was a black substance. The puppet tilted his head as it came over to him, but he bent down to get a closer look. Slappy almost jumped when the substance grabbed onto his hand, but calmed down when he realised what it was. The ink quickly disappeared into Slappys’ hard wooden shell. If the ink he dropped made it back to him...

Slappy looked up to see a moving light source coming. It looked like it was outside the junk yard. The puppet stood up as he continued to stare.

“Slappy?”

Slappy heard a familiar voice. It was in the same direction as the light.

“Papa?”

Slappy started moving again; going towards the light source as if it was a form of salvation. Slappy stopped as he reached a fork in the road; showing four ways. Slappy looked towards the path on his left. It showed an opening out of the junkyard and the light was coming closer. Slappy braced himself for what was coming. The light came through the opening and shined on Slappy; making him still.

“Slappy?”

Slappy looked towards the opening as the light disappeared; revealing a group of figures that he was more than glad to see.

“Papa!”

Slappy ran to Stine and the group; grabbing his creator by the leg and hugging him. Lorraine, Hannah and the boys smiled at the sight while Mrs Cooper seemed confused. Stine gently lifted Slappy up and held the puppet in his arms.

“Are you alright? Did they hurt you?” Stine questioned out of concern.

“They attacked me emotional, locked me in a bird cage and that doll said suggestive things about me that made me sick!” Slappy said; sounding disgusted at the thought of the events.

“Well, you got away from them; that's what matters.” Zach answered kindly.

“Just don't wander away from us again.” Hannah added.

“What about the book? With the original monsters?” Champ questioned in terror.

Slappy grinned at the timid boy before reaching into his jacket and taking out the manuscript.

“Right here.” The puppet said proudly. “One original copy of-”

Slappy took a look at the title and road it out loud.

“Slappy’s revenge.”

The puppet raised a brow and looked towards his creator.

“How flattering.” He said in a dull tone.

Mrs Cooper went wide eyed for second when she realised something.

“Wait; w-why is his name in the title?” The woman questioned; seemingly growing worried.

“Mom, it's a long story and we don't have time to explain.” Zach tried to stop his mother from panicking.

“Your son is right, Mrs Cooper.” Stine agreed with the boy.

The writer turned to Lorraine and handed Slappy over to her.

“Now I want all of you to get as far away from here as possible.” Stine instructed, taking out the new manuscript. “I'm going to finish this and seal these monsters away-”

A wall of fire appeared out of nowhere, blocking the way out of the junkyard. Everyone quickly back away from the fire, but an evil giggle made them turn in fright.

“Well look what we got here.”


	19. The Evil is Defeated

Mary Ellen smirked menacingly as her monsters gathered behind her. Wally stood to the left of her while the witch stood to the right. Stine and the gang kept their distance.

“I was wondering when you were gonna show up.” Mary Ellen said in a smug tone.

“Well you picked a very conspicuous place to hide.” Stine replied, trying to sound calm.

Hannah and the boys stood their ground as Mary Ellen started giggling. Lorraine and Mrs Cooper spotted a path to run, but they could not do anything with any of the monsters watching.

“I'm more than just a pretty face ya know.” The doll replied as she curled her hair. “Now then...”

Mary Ellen gave the humans and the puppet an icy stare and moved forward with her hand out.

“Hand it over.” The doll spoke in a rough demanding voice.

“Hand what over!?” Slappy shouted at the opposing mob of monsters.

“You know what we want, you dummy!” Wally shouted back with an insult.

Slappy growled angrily as Stine kept him close to protect him.

“If you think we’re just going to give it to you, you’re wrong!” Zach spoke from his spot.

“Oh, you are going to give it to me.” Mary Ellen smirked.

“And you’re little dummy too!” Wally added.

“STOP CALLING ME THAT!!” Slappy shouted aggressively.

Stine kept a tight grip on the puppet, stopping him from attacking his sinister brother. Lorraine quietly went up to Stine and whispered something into his ear while Mrs Cooper tapped Zach on the shoulder and gestured to the path. Zach, Hannah and Champ noticed the path. Hannah tapped her father on the shoulder; getting his attention. Hannah gestured towards the path. Stine quickly noticed and turned his attention back to the monsters.

“Look, Stine. Just give me the book and I'll let ya go.” Mary Ellen spoke calmly.

“She’s lying to you, Papa! Don't do it!” Slappy whispered to Stine; hearing the lie.

Stine quickly glanced at Slappy. The writer took a quick glance at the path before looking at the monsters with a glare that could kill.

“No. You’re going back to where you belong.”

Stine quickly turned to his friends and family; telling them to run. Mary Ellen's face turned angry and sour as the humans and the puppet she had eyes for quickly disappeared into the path.

“GET THEM!” She shouted at her monster team.

The monsters quickly gave chase. Mary Ellen jumped onto the Knights horse while Wally ran with the other monsters. Stine and the gang ran through the maze; not looking back. Zach briefly stopped and pulled a pipe out of the side of the maze; making large chunks of metal and scrape fall and block the path. The monsters quickly stopped to a halt. Mary Ellen and Wally growled angrily.

“Well don't just stand there! PULL IT APART!!” Wally ordered with a shout.

As the monsters began to tear away at the scrap metal wall, Stine and the gang continued to run. Before reaching a fork in the road. Zach, Champ and Hannah looked at both paths; trying to figure out what way to go.

“What way do we go!?” Lorraine questioned as she panicked.

“Maybe we should go right.” Mrs Cooper suggested.

“Not that way.”

Stine got everyone's attention as he spoke and gently put Slappy down on the ground. The writer reached into his jacket and took out the new manuscript with its key. Everyone gave Stine a weird look; unsure of what he was doing. Stine kneeled down in front of Slappy with a firm look on his face.

“Slappy. I need you to do something very important.” The writer said to his creation.

Slappy stared vacantly as Stine handed the book and key to him. The puppets eyes went wide when he realised what was happening.

“I want you to go right while the rest of us go left. When you’re sure that you're not being chased, open the book.”

Hannah and the boys shouted a loud “what” while Lorraine and Mrs Cooper stared with concern.

“You’re going to let him handle this?! What if he messes it up!?” Zach questioned with doubt.

“I actually agree with him, Papa. I don't think I'm up for that.” Slappy spoke pessimistically to his creator; trying to hand the new manuscript back to him.

“We don't have time to argue.” Stine tried to take the original manuscript from Slappy.

“I can't do it!”

“Slappy, please listen-”

“What if I get sucked into it!?”

Stine and the gang went a bit wide eyed when Slappy reacted like that. The puppet looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack. Stine put his hands on Slappy's shoulders and spoke to him calmly.

“You are not going back in there, Slappy. I made you a promise and I intend to keep it.”

Slappy calmed down a little, but he was still tense. The puppet was about to reply. But the sound of crashing metal made everyone look back. Stine quickly took the ’Slappy’s revenge’ manuscript from his creation and stood up.

“Now go; hurry!”

Slappy hesitated for a second, but he quickly ran the way on the right with the new manuscript in his hands. Mary Ellen and her monsters finally got through the metal barricade; now charging towards the humans. Stine, Lorraine and Hannah started shouting threats and insults to get their attention. The group quickly ran the opposite direction from where Slappy went with Mary Ellen and her monsters chasing after them. Wally was close behind. But he stopped. The redheaded dummy turned back as a weird feeling found its way into his non-Existent spine. Wally just realised that someone was missing from the human group. The redhead dummy cracked a grim and sinister smirk; lightly chuckling as he went the opposite way from the humans.

Slappy slowed down as he reached a dead end. He briefly looked back to make no one was behind him. He looked down at the book and key in his hands. He started shaking as he picked up the key; unsure if it was the cold or the fear of possibly being imprisoned again. Slappy just stared at the book, even though he knew he was on a time limit.

“C’mon, Slappy. It’ll be fine.” He tried to reassure himself.

But the bad thoughts kept coming back to haunt.

“But what if Wally was right?” The question repeated itself in his head.

Slappy shook his head and tried to keep the thought away.

“No, he was lying. Papa promised he wouldn't do it again.”

Slappy held the book in front of him and put the key into the lock.

“Papa promised.”

Slappy was about to turn the lock and end this mess. But a sharp pain in his back made him freeze. Slappy's eyes went wide and his eyebrows went straight up as he heard a sadistic cackle.

“We all know who the really dummy is. Don't we, brother?”

Wally grinned evilly as he pushed Slappy foreword; taking out his knife and making his brother fall down. After a few seconds, Slappy let a pain induced scream as the wound slowly healed itself.

“Oh, did that hurt?” Wally spoke sarcastically.

Slappy just caught his breath as the wound healed up. The puppet tried to unlock the book, but Wally grabbed him by his collar and tossed him across the ground.

“Well it's gonna get a lot more painful.” The redheaded dummy smiled sinisterly.

* * *

Stine and the gang ran as fast as they could. Mary Ellen and her monsters chased them through the maze. Zach, Hannah and Champ briefly looked back to see nothing; but they could hear the sounds of angry monsters.

“What's taking him so long?!” Hannah questioned as she ran.

All of a sudden, Stine stopped in a halt; making everyone else stop.

“Dead end!” Lorraine and Mrs Cooper said in unison.

“What do we do now?!” Champ questioned with growing panic.

Everyone heard the sound of growling monsters from behind and quickly turned around. Mary Ellen giggled wickedly while Stine, Lorraine and Mrs Cooper stood in front of the kids.

“Nowhere to go now, Stine.” Mary Ellen teased in a sing-song tone. “Just give me what I want, and you can go.”

“I know you're lying, Mary-Ellen.” Stine replied in a harsh tone.

“You’ll just hurt us anyway!” Hannah added.

Mary Ellen raised her eyebrow and put her hand up to her chin in thought.

“I don't think I would.”

The doll looked at the humans and gave them a sinister smile.

“But they will.”

The beast of the east let out a deafening roar before charging towards the humans with his teeth and claws out. Lorraine quickly picked up a pipe on the ground and stood in front of the group; hitting the beast right on the head and knocking it away. The smile on Mary Ellen’s face quickly turned into a shocked and angered grimace. Stine, Hannah and Zach were gobsmacked as Lorraine gave them a reassuring smile.

“You hit my Beast, you meat bags!” Mary Ellen shouted furiously.

“So, what are you going to do about it, doll face?!” Champ said with an intended insult.

Mary Ellen growled at the humans as they grabbed bits of junk and metal to fight back.

“RIP THEM APART!!” The doll shouted at the top of her lungs; making her monsters charge.

* * *

Slappy grunted in pain as he hit the hard ground. The puppet struggled to get back up and reach the manuscript, but Wally picked him up again and threw him down like some dangerous wrestler.

“You think you're some special snowflake?” Wally questioned in a harsh tone of voice.

Slappy groaned as he tried to get up, only to be picked up and thrown again. The puppet grunted as his back hit a pile of junk. Slappy looked up to see Wally a few meters away from him.

“You think you can just get what you want, don't you!” Wally shouted with growing anger. “You forgot about Chicago! You forgot that I let you out and helped you with your plan to get back at Stine!”

Slappy breathed heavily and laid his head back as Wally vented at him. The puppet noticed a lit torch just hanging over his head; just close enough to reach.

“And how did you repay me for helping you? You knocked me out and used me as bait! And Stine still managed to stop you! I was the one who did all the work, and you took all the credit like the spotlight stealing runt that you've always been!”

Wally had his knife in his hand; holding it tightly as his anger reached its boiling point. The redheaded dummy looked at his little brother with a soul stealing stare.

“So... What have you got to say for yourself before I chop you into firewood?”

Slappy looked up at his brother as he took heavy breathes. The puppet was limp and silent before he finally spoke.

“I'm sorry.”

Wally blinked out of confusion when he heard those words come from his egotistic brother.

“I never wanted it to be this way. I didn't want to do that to you. But I didn't want Papa to seal me away again. But, he said things would be different now. Maybe, we can both talk to him and come to an agreement. We can be free together. We don't have to be trapped. We can be brothers again.”

Slappy slowly held his hand out to Wally; wondering if he would accept his offer. Wally stood there with a blank look on his face. But it slowly turned angry and vengeful as his eyebrows narrowed and his eyes began to glow in radioactive green.

“I don't want your apology.” Wally whispered in a raspy voice.

Slappy took his hand back and looked up to the torch as knew what was about to happen.

“I want YOU DEAD!”

Wally held his knife above his head and charged towards Slappy in pure rage. Slappy reacted quickly; reaching for the torch when Wally was in close range. The Redhead dummy was about to attack the shorter puppet, but Slappy held the lit torch and jabbed it into the left side of his brother's face. Wally stopped and screamed as the torch burned him; dropping his knife and falling down with his face in his hands. Slappy saw his chance; quickly getting up despite the pain in his little body and raced towards the manuscript.

“YOU LITTLE PINHEAD!” Wally yelled and screamed through his hands.

Slappy got on his knees as he picked up the book and unlocked it. Wally moved his hands away from his face; showing the left of his face burned and charred.

“I’LL KILL YOU!”

Wally charged towards Slappy with his arms and hands foreword. Slappy quickly opened the book; making it fly out of his hands. Wally froze as the book hit the ground; trying to back away as it opened up.

“No.”

* * *

Champ shouted out a war cry as he swung his makeshift weapon in the air and hit the Vampirilla in the side of his head. Stine and the gang kept their strength up as they defended themselves against the attacking monsters, but it was becoming tiring. Mary Ellen had her hands on her hips and an evil smile on her face as she watched.

“You can't keep up forever, Robbie!” She taunted. “You’ll have to give up sometime-”

A bright light shot up into the sky from somewhere in the scrape yard; getting everyone's attention. Mary Ellen and her monsters became confused and started panicking. But Stine smiled at the sight.

* * *

Slappy ran into a corner as the Manuscript was about to do its work. Wally tried to run, but the book began to suck him up. The redheaded dummy grabbed onto the ground and dug his fingers in; grunted angrily as he held on.

* * *

“Everyone stand back!” Stine warned his friends; knowing what was about to happen.

Everyone watched as the monsters began to fly into the air; roaring and screaming to be put down. Mary Ellen held on to a piece of scrape metal.

“What did you do!?” She screamed at the top of her lungs.

“We didn't do anything.” Zach smirked at the doll.

“Your boyfriend did it.” Hannah added.

Mary Ellen went wide eyed as she realised what Hannah was saying. The metal she was holding onto gave out and she was sent flying towards the book with her monsters.

Slappy watched as the monsters were being sucked back into the world of paper and ink. The Beast of the East, the barking ghosts, the knight in screaming armour and his horse, Vanessa the witch, the Masked Mutant, the Vampirilla; all of them. And their leader. Mary Ellen screamed her last words as her body turned back into ink.

“HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!? I LOVED YOU WITH ALL MY HEART!!”

Slappy let out a relived sigh as that doll disappeared into the book; hopefully for good. But Wally was still holding onto the ground. The redhead dummy turned his head to look at his little brother; his eyes still glowing, even the burnt one.

“See you in your nightmares, runt.” Wally spoke in a haunting whisper.

An uncomfortable chill ran through Slappy’s body as Wally started laughing. The redhead dummy lost his grip on the ground and flew into the vortex of the manuscript; laughing harder and manically. Slappy watched Wally continuing to laugh as he turned back into ink and disappeared into the manuscript. Slappy froze when he still heard the laugher. But he quickly snapped out of it. The puppet covered his face as he made his way to the manuscript, trying to avoid dirt and dust in his eyes. Slappy fell to his knees; feeling pained and exhausted. But he fought through it and reached for the book. When he reached it, Slappy closed its leather covering; making the vortex disappear and leaving a faint struck of thunder. The puppet reached for the key and turned it; closing the book for good. With an exhausted sigh, Slappy fell to his side and laid still.

* * *

Hannah, Zach and Champ stood still; listening for anything strange or abnormal. Stine, Lorraine and Mrs Cooper did the same, but Stine quickly came to realise what happened.

“Do you hear that?” The writer asked.

“I don't hear anything.” Lorraine answered.

“Exactly.” Stine smiled.

Hannah and the boys also started smiling. Champ even started cheering.

“We did it!” The awkward teen grabbed his friends in a group hug.

Hannah and Zach hugged back, with good reason to celebrate. Stine smiled at the sight. He was happy that they could overcome another evil force. This time, without losing a loved one. The smile on the writers face faded and his eyes went wide.

“Slappy!”

Stine hurried out of the dead end to find Slappy.

“Sweetheart, wait!” Lorraine hurried after him.

Mrs Cooper and the kids chased after them. Stine made it to the fork in the path; remembering witch way Slappy went. The writer called out to Slappy; getting worried when he got no answer. Stine made it to another dead end. The writers heart shank when he saw Slappy lying still on the ground. Stine hurried over as Lorraine and the others caught up with him. Lorraine gasped at the sight while the others quickly hurried over. Stine gently lifted the puppet up and held him in his arms.

“Slappy?” Stine tried to get a response from him.

No response. Stine gently placed his hand on Slappy's head; trying not to panic. Hannah and the others watched with growing worry.

“Come on, Slappy; say something.” The writer began to beg.

After a few seconds of silence, stillness and worry, Slappy let out a sore sounding cough. Stine smiled in relief as the puppet partially opened his eyes. Slappy looked up at the familiar faces that surrounded him. He looked up at his creator with tired eyes.

“Did we... Win?” The puppet asked in a tired voice.

“We won.” Stine answered with a nod.

“They’re back in the book.” Hannah added.

“You beat them, Slappy.” Lorraine followed.

Slappy blinked as Hannah and her friends smiled; like they were happy to see him. The puppet let out a quiet and breathy laugh.

“That’s... Great.” Slappy spoke quietly.

The puppet felt his eyes closing of exhaustion.

“Just... Great.”

Slappy shut his eyes and fell asleep in his creators arms; seemingly still.

“Is he okay?” Mrs Cooper questioned in concern.

“He’s fine.” Stine reassured. “He’s had a long day. We’ve all had a long day.”

Lorraine and the kids nodded in agreement with the writer. Hannah bent down and picked the Manuscript off the ground.

“So what do we with this?” The writer’s daughter asked.

“We’ll figure it out later.” Stine answered back.

The writer looked down at the puppet in his arms; thinking of how content he seemed. Stine smiled a little; knowing things can improve from here.

“It's time to go home.”


	20. Loose Ends

Stine gently placed Slappy on the guest room bed; being careful not to wake him up. He gently placed a pillow under the puppets' head and pulled the blanket to his chin. Stine looked down at the small puppet; thinking of how the past few days had been difficult for both of them and everyone around them. But he thought that they may have helped Slappy change a little. The writer smiled warmly before walking to the door. Stine looked back in as he closed the door to the guest room; leaving Slappy to rest and recover. The writer made his way downstairs, where everyone was waiting in the living room.

"So?" Hannah spoke up.

"How is he?" Zach finished the question.

"He's resting. I'm not sure when he'll come around though." Stine explained.

Lorraine came up to Stine and gently took his hand in hers.

"Just let him take the time he needs." She reassured in a sweet tone of voice.

"So, what are you going to do with the manuscripts?" Champ asked of the writer.

"I'm going to put them somewhere where no one will ever find them."

"Where?"

"Never you mind."

Champ quickly backed off. While everything seemed good and fine, there was still one matter. Zach looked over to his mother; afraid of what she might be thinking. The boy turned to Stine and Hannah.

"So, I guess Slappy's staying here for good, huh?" He asked casually.

"Yep. Looks like I got a little brother now." Hannah answered with a slight laugh.

"Technically, he would be your big brother because he is older." Stine answered; not getting the joke.

"That's not what I meant, dad."

Zach smiled at the joke. His mother came up to Mr Stine and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Mr Stine. I know Slappy did help us all out of that jam back at the scrapyard." Mrs Cooper began.

Zach, Lorraine, Hannah and Champ looked at each other uncomfortably; knowing where this was going.

"But why was his name on one of the books?"

Stine blinked at the woman and adjusted his glasses; unsure of how to explain without making Slappy look bad after what he did tonight.

"Well... You see Mrs Cooper." The writer shuddered. "He-"

"Mom, it's getting late."

Zach put his arm around his mother to get her attention away from Stine. Mrs Cooper looked up at her son as he smiled nervously.

"We should just let Stine and Hannah rest for the night. I can tell you about it at home."

Mrs Cooper blinked out of confusion before briefly looking at Stine. Champ quickly stepped in.

"Yeah, it's a really long story and we've got school tomorrow." The awkward teen added, hoping to convince Mrs Cooper.

"I'm sure we're all pretty tired, Gale." Lorraine nodded in agreement.

Mrs Cooper thought for a moment before deciding.

"Yeah, it is getting late." She came to an agreement with everyone.

With that, Zach, Mrs Cooper, Champ and Lorraine left the house one by one. Champ ran out of the house as he waved goodbye to his friends and ran home. Lorraine kissed Stine goodnight and hugged Hannah goodbye; telling them she would come tomorrow to check on Slappy. Zach and Mrs Cooper said their goodbyes and went home next door. The boy stopped in front of door with wide eyes. Finding that the door was in fact gone and replaced with a broken rectangular opening.

"What happened to the front door?" Zach asked of his mother; noticing how wrecked the entry way looked.

"One of the monsters broke in and pretended to be you." Mrs Cooper explained. "He threw the door into the front yard somewhere."

Zach blinked out of confusion at the answer but he took it anyway.

"You want me to help you find it?" The teen asked.

"After you answer my questions."

Zach put his hands in pockets; trying to relax as he waited for the questions.

"Ok."

"So what was Slappy's name doing on that book?" Mrs Cooper questioned; crossing her arms.

Zach rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to answer carefully. He did not want his mother to think that Slappy was some sort of angry vengeful creature after he rescued her from Mary-Ellen and her monsters; even though it was under a false name.

"I know you asked Stine about it. But I think it makes him a little uncomfortable thinking about it." Zach began to explain.

Mrs Cooper leaned against the wall as her son began to explain.

"You remember what happened when we moved here, right?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, the town was invaded by monsters. I know they came from Mr Stine's books." Mrs Cooper answered back.

"Well, Slappy was one of them."

Zach's mother went a little wide eyed upon hearing that.

"He was there?" She tried not to sound too surprised. "Was he in charge?"

"No, no, he wasn't in charge!" Zach lied. "But, he had a really bad grudge against Stine. I think he still does."

"Ok. But that doesn't explain why his name was on the book."

Zach tried to think of the right way to answer.

"Well... He didn't tell us how it happened. But I think he and Slappy were good friends, but they had a falling out. He said something about Slappy going overboard with scaring people. But he told us the other night that he wanted to try and fix their relationship."

Zach watched nervously as Mrs Cooper looked like she was thinking deeply.

"Me, Hannah and Champ were sceptical about it at first, but we didn't want to stop him if it's what he wanted to do." Zach finished explaining.

Mrs Cooper had her hand up to her chin as she processed what Zach said to her. She looked back up to him after ten seconds.

"Well, it's in the past, isn't it?" She said with mild sincerity. "I mean, I can see why Slappy lied to me about his name when he helped me escape. But I'm sure he didn't have too."

"Maybe he was afraid that you might have read one of his books." Zach joked.

Mrs Cooper laughed a little at her son's joke.

"I'm grateful that he helped me back there." She replied. "But it's a little weird to think that Hannah as a sentiment doll for a little brother; don't you think?"

Zach thought for a moment.

"Yeah." He nodded in agreement. "But I'm sure we'll get used to it."

* * *

Hannah finished brushing her teeth; just about ready for bed. She grabbed a hair band from a drawer and tied her hair into a loose ponytail before leaving the bathroom. Hannah stopped at the top of the stairs; staring at the door into the room that Slappy was in. She thought of how strange it was. She was going to see him a lot more from now on, and it was probably going to take a while to get used to. But she was not going to let it bother her. As long as he kept tricks and pranks to a minimum. Hannah went down stairs to look for her father.

"Dad? You down here?" She spoke out; looking into the living room.

"I'm in the kitchen, Hannah." Stine called out.

Hannah turned around and went into the kitchen. Stine was standing near the counter with a small cardboard box on top of it. The writer had his arms crossed; looking deep in thought as he stared at the box. Hannah had an idea of what was in there, but she wanted to make sure.

"Are the manuscripts in there?" She asked as she leaned against the wall.

"Just the new one. I hid the first one in my room." Stine answered; not taking his eyes off the box.

"In the office?"

"My bedroom."

Hannah glanced at the box. She could hear faint noises coming from inside it. The sounds resembled that of a fight and an argument. She looked back at her father.

"What do you think they're doing in there?" She asked.

"Probably fighting about who is to blame for their loss. They've been going at it for hours I think." Stine answered.

"So what are you going to do with it?"

"Well for now..."

Stine gently picked up the box and put it in the bottom cupboard of the counter.

"We'll leave it here for tonight. And tomorrow I'll put it somewhere where no one will find it."

Hannah nodded before letting out a light yawn and rubbing her eye. Stine smiled at his daughter.

"It's been a long day." The writer said as he stood up.

"Yeah." Hannah replied. "I don't want to do anything for a month."

The writer chuckled a little at his daughter's reply. As Stine and Hannah were close to the top of the stairs; a noise came from the guest room. The pair quickly turned their attention to the door as they heard something that sounded like a frightened moan.

"Slappy? Are you alright?" Stine called out in concern.

"Are you okay, little guy?" Hannah added with equal concern.

The pair heard an eerie silence in the guest room.

"No, please!"

Stine and Hannah looked at each other nervously when they heard Slappy cry out. The writer quickly opened the door and Hannah turned on the light. The pair saw a small shaking lump under the blankets. Stine gently pulled them back to see Slappy curled up in a ball; his hands covering his face and his knees up to his chest. Hannah and Stine looked at him with worry as he started making noises that sounded like a frighted puppy.

"Slappy, are you okay?" Hannah gently placed a hand on the shaking puppet.

Slappy stopped shaking and took his hands away from his face to open his eyes. The puppet looked up; seemingly dazed, confused and thinking he was still in a bad dream.

"W-where am I?" Slappy questioned in a shudder.

"It's okay, Slappy. You're safe." Stine reassured the confused puppet.

"We took you home after you blacked out." Hannah explained.

Slappy still looked dazed, but he was coming around.

"So Wally didn't kill me? And I'm not Mary-Ellen's trophy?"

"No, but you took a fair amount of damage." Stine answered back.

"You slept like a rock up until now." Hannah added.

Slappy blinked at Stine and Hannah before turning away from them.

"I was tired." Slappy spoke in a quiet and resentful tone. "Wally batted, bruised me and threw me around."

Stine and Hannah looked at the puppet worryingly.

"Wally beat you?" Stine questioned out of worry.

Slappy did not want to admit it, but he could not lie about what happened at the junkyard. Slappy just nodded in response.

"Well you don't have to worry about him anymore. He's in the book with Mary-Ellen where he can't hurt you or cause trouble." Hannah tried to cheer the puppet up.

"That's not the problem."

Stine and Hannah shared an exchange of confused looks when Slappy spoke up.

"I tried to talk to him." the puppet had a sad croak on his voice. "I thought I could get him to change sides. I said that we could be brothers again. But... He couldn't forget about Chicago. I should've known better. I already stabbed him in the back. He was right to return the favour."

Slappy fell silent as he buried his face in a pillow just in his reach. Stine and Hannah watched as the puppet just laid still before speaking up.

"He stabbed you?" Stine questioned in quiet shock.

"In the back. Literally." Slappy replied; his voice muffled by the pillow.

"But you're ok now. Right?"

"True, but it still hurt."

Hannah reached out to Slappy and held his hand. Slappy responded by turning his head slightly to look up at her and Stine.

"Did you have a bad dream about him?" Hannah asked him.

Slappy gave Hannah a blank glance before nodding and answering.

"I was surrounded by the other monsters. Wally kept telling me what a weak failure I am and Mary-Ellen ordered the others to attack me."

Slappy started shaking again as he held his pillow tightly and refused to let go of Hannah's hand.

"I thought I was going to die."

Stine and Hannah had equal amount of concern for the puppet. The writer sat down on the bed and gently picked up Slappy; placing him on his lap while Hannah came around the other side of the bed.

"Slappy, it was only a dream. Dreams can't hurt you." Stine tried to reassure the puppet.

Slappy tried to look up at his creator. But he just could not.

"I wish I could believe you, papa." The puppet spoke softly. "I just thought that if I got through to Wally, I could've stopped him from ending up like me."

Slappy took a brief sigh; his eyes half shut and dimly glowing green.

"Hey. You tried to convince him and that's a good thing." Hannah took hold of Slappy's hand again. "But some people are beyond help."

Slappy looked up at Hannah with a dazed expression. The puppet looked down at the floor; thinking of nothing to say.

"It's okay, Slappy." Stine tried to reassure and apologies to the puppet. "I know that what you've been for through for the last few years was... Less than pleasant. But it'll be better this time."

"Don't apologise, Papa."

Stine and Hannah blinked in surprise towards Slappy's response. The puppet looked back up to his creator and 'sibling'. He briefly sighed before speaking again.

"You already apologised. Now it's my turn." Slappy spoke in a calm tone. "I'm... I'm sorry for all the things I did. Going overboard with the bullies, taking over that mall in Chicago... And breaking your fingers. I know everything I did was wrong and inexcusable. But I'll try to behave better. Though I can't promise too much."

Stine smiled at Slappy as he held him gently.

"Just as long as you don't try and take over the town." The writer patted the puppet on his head.

Slappy hid his slight annoyance and looked up at Hannah.

"Hannah." He began in a shaky voice. "This really isn't easy for me to say. I didn't mean all that stuff I said to you when we were trapped in the book together. About Papa not caring."

Stine raised a brow as Slappy continued.

"I'm sorry for saying those things to you. I wasn't in my right mind at the time with losing and being trapped again. If you don't forgive me, I understand."

Slappy turned away from Stine and Hannah as the pair processed Slappy's apology. A few seconds after, the pair smiled before taking Slappy by surprise and putting him into a group hug. The puppet struggled against it.

"What did I do wrong?!" Slappy yelped; thinking he was being attacked.

"Even though must of the things you did were wrong, we're glad that you're mature enough to apologise." Stine spoke, firmly but kindly.

"You're forgiven, Slap-stick." Hannah patted the puppet on the back.

Slappy thought he was losing his mind. He knew Stine would forgive him, but he did not think Hannah would even acknowledge his existence. But she was slowly warming up to him. The puppet would've smiled more if he could. But all he could do was tear up slightly without realising and hug back. Stine and Hannah quickly noticed.

"Slappy, are you alright?" Stine asked in concern.

"Huh?" Slappy muttered; not hearing his creator.

"You've got something in your eye." Hannah pointed out, pointing to her own eye.

Slappy raised a brow before reaching his eye to see what the writer and the ghost were talking about. Slappy wiped the tears away and looked away from Stine and Hannah.

"I-I wasn't crying!" Slappy crossed his arms; trying to look angry instead of embarrassed. "I'm just tired."

Stine smiled and quietly chuckled at Slappy's behaviour.

"Yes, it's quite late." Stine gently picked up Slappy and placed him back on the bed. "We should all go to bed."

Hannah nodded before jumping off of the bed while Stine stood up off the bed. Slappy looked up at them as Hannah patted him on the head.

"Goodnight, Slap-stick." She teased the small puppet.

"This better not become a thing." Slappy responded; slightly annoyed by the patting and the new nickname.

"No promises." Hannah teased him more.

Slappy just groaned briefly while Hannah walked out the door. Stine waited as Slappy pulled the blanket back to cover himself and a pillow to lay his head on. The writer went back to the bed and stood beside it as Slappy laid down on his side.

"Will you be okay tonight?" Stine questioned; offering to stay if Slappy wanted him to.

"I think I'll be fine, Papa." Slappy responded; curling up beneath the blankets.

Stine smiled a little as he gently pulled the blanket up to Slappy's chin to help him get comfortable.

"Just get some sleep. We can talk more tomorrow." The writer wished his creation a goodnight.

Slappy watched as Stine stood up and walked to the door; gently closing it and leaving the puppet to sleep. When the door was closed, Stine sighed and took off his glasses to clean them.

"So it's official then."

Stine turned to the right of him to see Hannah leaning against the wall with her left hand on her hip and a knowing look on her face.

"Slappy's here to stay?" She spoke as a small smile formed on her lips.

Stine put his glasses back on before answering.

"Indeed so." The writer spoke in a knowing tone.

Slappy stared into space as he felt his eyelids becoming heavy. The puppet thought about the events of the past few days. How Stine felt pity for him and let him out. How Hannah tried to help him when he ran off into the woods. How the boys were willing to let Stine give him a chance. How Lorraine showed him kindness; even after the police station incident. They even came back for him when he was kidnapped. Slappy reflected on everything and everyone; wondering if he even deserved it. He wondered if he really could change. Not completely; just enough to be free and loved. Slappy could not resist pulling a trick or a prank every once and a while; but maybe just little harmless ones. Before falling asleep, Slappy thought of his early days with Stine before their relationship went downhill. He had a feeling that things could go back to the way they were, but without the problems of bullies or toxic thoughts of revenge. The puppet had high hopes for the future. He knew things were going to get a little better. For Hannah. For Stine. And for himself.


End file.
